He Is My Master
by Chiisai Kitsune
Summary: SONADOW. After Chaos Control goes awry, Sonic and Shadow go AWOL...landing in a parallel dimension with many familiar faces, but a huge problem. Getting back would be so easy - that is, if everyone wasn't insisting that Sonic is 'Prince' Shadow's slave...
1. Chaos Control Freaks!

**Author's Note: **Hey, there, welcome to this fic! And yup, Sonadow, guyxguy relationship. HOWEVER, I will try to make this a good story and not some teenage angst/plotless ramble. Inspired by The Sound of Silence by Chaos Flower and In My Arms by Terra's Wrath. Ever wondered: What would happen if you dumped canon Sonic and Shadow into your typical sonadow slave fic? :D Also, please read the whole chappie before hitting that back button - the introductory section is somewhat...not where this fic is gonna go. Please enjoy!

* * *

_Chiisai Kitsune presents:_

**He Is My Master **

**Chapter 1: Chaos Control Freaks!**

The blue body wreathed, its back arching in pain, but still his captor would grant him no release. Shadow, black-furred son of the King, brought his crop down hard. The slave cried out.

But while the other three attending anthropomorphic Sapients were either wearing expressions of boredom or smug satisfaction as they watched the punishment carried out in this dungeon, neither slave nor master seemed to be enjoying it much.

Shadow lashed out at the unprotected back once more, the whimpering of the other not able to sway him. His slave was trapped in a sort of pillory, which left him standing on the ground, bent forward with both his hands and neck locked in the wooden contraption at chest height, behind exposed in this humiliating position.

Not broken. Already obedient most of the time, but still not completely broken.

"Master…please…" he begged, squirming in the tight hold of the wood, anything to get away from the beating.

Shadow scowled before hitting the slave again, impassive against the yelp this pulled forth. It went against his grain to hurt something so pretty, but unfortunately, it just couldn't be helped…

"_Please! No more!" _

The other attendants sighed to each other. It had been _months_ since this slave had been brought into the castle. The King had bought it for Shadow, who had been trying to break the blue hedgehog down to his father's standards ever since. In this realm, slaves were not just obedient, but _utterly_ broken. It was fairly easy to accomplish that with newborns, who had never known anything else, but Wilds, like this one, were harder.

Shadow was still laying into the blue hedgehog, his strokes calm, clean and with pauses in between. The slave was openly crying now and the atmosphere between the grey cat servant and bulldog dungeon master who were leaning against the wall became vaguely hopeful. Perhaps they would be out of here soon?

The purple lizard who held the whips, bandages and collar next to Prince Shadow just looked on impassively as reptiles are prone to do. He didn't notice the mixture of anger and pity in Shadow's eyes, and neither did anyone else as the black hedgehog raised his hand for the final lash above the trembling, tied body.

xxx

Meanwhile, in a strange foreign land called "canon", into which sonadow writers hardly ever set foot in (because neither is Shadow a kinky vampire, nor is Sonic willing to carry his baby) things were entirely different, however.

"Heya, Shadow! What's up with your speed? Guarantee on your skates run out?"

The addressed black hedgehog only snarled viciously in response, annoyed beyond measure by the carefree, laughing blue prankster. He forced his body to work harder and pour out the Chaos Energy into his shoes, which blazed brightly and propelled him forward to draw level with Sonic again, who grinned.

"Thought you'd never catch up. Enjoying the race so far?" the blue hedgehog asked flippantly, yet Shadow was satisfied to hear that even underneath the cocky speech the breathing of the blue hedgehog was becoming slightly more laboured.

"Shut it, faker. I want my Emerald back."

"I know. That's why I borrowed it, after all." Sonic laughed and jumped across a log that was barring their way in the dry, grassy landscape they were dashing through and Shadow followed just a split-second after.

"_I_ know. And that's also why I'll kill you as soon as I have my hands on it," the black hedgehog shot back, trying to impale Sonic in front of him with a death glare instead of a Chaos Spear.

Sadly, it wasn't quite as effective.

And again, the movement of Sonic as he watched him run entranced him, threatening to make him lose his focus and…

"God_dammit!" _Shadow cursed as he nearly tripped over a root, which could break bones at the speeds they were going.

_This is all that blue idiot's fault._

Sonic had been the one who wanted a race. Shadow had been the one who threatened to tie his tail to his snout if he asked one more time.

And _then_ Sonic had had the bright idea to steal Shadow's Chaos Emerald, because there's nothing like a little blackmail to get others to go along with your plans...

"What's the matter, Shads? Need a hand?" his rival called over his shoulder, not slowing down.

"_You'll_ need a blood transfusion soon…" the black hedgehog grumbled under his breath, concentrating on skating.

Sonic had hidden the damn Emerald somewhere in near-wilderness, then come back and challenged Shadow to a race. If he wanted his gem stone back, the Ultimate Lifeform had no other choice but to beat Sonic to it, which was exactly what the blue hedgehog had been after in the first place.

Well, at least his rival had had the decency to mark the racetrack, so Shadow would know where to run even if he overtook Sonic.

_Which __still__ won't save him from a serious thrashing as soon as I got my property back,_ Shadow thought grimly.

All the black hedgehog had wanted was a quiet existence as a wanderer in between Club Rouge or the ARK. He had no desire to be anywhere _near_ Sonic.

Because…that blue hedgehog lately had made him feel rather…odd…

Shadow furiously shook his head as he could sense a heat creeping up in his face and, with a final burst of speed, dashed past Sonic, shoving the hedgehog in the process, who yelped, but caught himself in time.

"Hey! No fair!"

"Life isn't fair. Get used to it!" Shadow called back, which only elicited an excited grin from Sonic, who could feel some banter coming up.

_What is __wrong__ with me?_ wondered the black hedgehog, irritated by both his body's irrational behaviour and Sonic's oblivious attitude.

"Final stretch of the road! Here goes nothing!" suddenly came the shout from behind, and Sonic, with gritted teeth but shining eyes, pulled even. In the distance, carefully positioned on a rock in the middle of the barren plain, lay the transparent Chaos Emerald.

Now the race was truly on. Blue legs were a blur. Skates scorched the ground, aflame.

Shadow spin-dashed, Sonic dodged, laughed, and still nobody was in the lead. The Emerald was drawing ever closer, the ground eaten up beneath their feet. Shadow's attack could have easily sliced Sonic in half, but it took more than that to intimidate the blue hero. He _loved _the challenge. And besides, that spin-dash had been shoddily aimed, anyway…

Shadow was scowling at himself. Why hadn't he attacked Sonic for real? He _was_ angry at him, he _yearned _to lay hand on that blue body, but somehow…he hadn't been able to truly…

_Forget about it. As soon as I touch that Emerald, I'll Chaos Control out of here and to the ARK. Having to run all the way home when he's already tired should be punishment enough for the faker._

As it was, while both hedgehogs were similarly exhausted, only when looking at Sonic it was obvious. His fur was starting to mat with the sweat, and his quills were rumpled and tossed about by the winds.

Which was exactly how Sonic liked it. He pushed his body to the limit, running alongside Shadow towards the stone. His plan was simple. As soon as his fingertips were brushing against the Emerald, he'd Chaos Control away, hiding it yet somewhere else and challenge Shadow to _another_ race. (Granted, it would probably end up being a _brawl_ instead of a race because the other would be positively livid, but that was fine with Sonic). He just liked matching himself against his rival in speed.

Both hedgehogs accelerated, their breathing fast, their eyes trained on the gem. Two gloved hands stretched forward, nearly touching…

"_Chaos Control!"_

xxx

Something, somewhere, had went terribly wrong.

Sonic knew it as soon as Chaos Control had activated, because it at once drained him of nearly all of his power. He gasped as his breath was driven out of his lungs, struggling against the urge to faint. He dimly thought he sensed Shadow next to him doing the same, but couldn't see a thing as they were encased by light so bright it was blinding.

What was happening? The last thing Sonic remembered was grasping the Emerald, at the same time as Shadow, and both of them had yelled the command to teleport….

_Yeah. Trying to warp to two different places at once with the same Emerald probably was a __really bad idea_, shot through the blue hedgehog's head. He had wanted to Chaos Control to Tails' workshop, but had no idea what place Shadow had had in mind.

Usually he could tell the distance of a teleport, judging by the amount of effort it required, and right now it felt as if he was trying to jump to the other side of the galaxy. Sonic was growing dizzy, disoriented and faint, and just wished for the whole rainbow ride around him to stop so he could get off – when suddenly the world reappeared.

But, as said before, it reappeared somehow, somewhere, terribly wrong.

For the blue hedgehog it was as if a sensation of movement had suddenly stopped and he was slumped against something – something that settled as an uncomfortable, ensnaring thing around his wrists and neck. Sonic's legs nearly buckled underneath him as they were suddenly forced to hold his body up again, and the blue hero managed to catch himself just in time. But he now noticed that he couldn't upright himself since he was bent forward and somehow encased in…?

A sharp pain exploded on his backside.

"OW! What the…?"

Things that are in motion tend to stay in motion. Important for Science classes, and also if you have just arrived in some odd, medieval dungeon you had never intended to go.

Shadow blinked.

Then he stared at his hand that was for some reason holding something resembling a riding crop. And stared at the blue behind he had just struck.

"What…?"

"Thisss sshould be enough for today, my Prince. You do not look very well, if I may sssay ssso," a purple lizard addressed Shadow, who stared at him, clueless. Realizing he was talking to him, Shadow slowly nodded. He _wasn't_ feeling very well. Was he hallucinating?

"Hey, you! Get me out of here!"

Okay. Scratch that. There was no way in hell a hallucination could sound that realistic. In front of him, the tailed behind that seemed to belong to Sonic was now wriggling. The blue hedgehog appeared to be trapped in some kind of pillory.

"Excussse me, my Prince," the lizard lisped once again, taking the crop out of Shadow's unresisting hand and lashed out at the blue hedgehog's back, adding a second bruise.

"You do not ssspeak unlesss sspoken to, sslave!"

Sonic yelped as he was struck, probably more from surprise than pain, and abruptly fell silent. A sigh came from the right, and Shadow's head turned, seeing a grey cat in a light blue tunic dislodge himself from the dungeon wall, striding over to the lizard and taking a red collar from his hands. The black hedgehog was still trying to understand the whole situation and just watched as the cat walked around to Sonic's head, unfastening the choker and then snapping it shut around the blue hedgehog's neck. A leash followed suit and the bulldog, fifth and last Mobian (was this still Mobius?) took a key from his pocket, opening the pillory so Sonic could stand up properly.

The blue hedgehog thought he couldn't believe this.

Had they just addressed him as 'slave'? And…he pushed himself upright with one hand braced against the wood, then, disbelievingly, grabbed at the leash the grey cat was patiently holding him on with the other hand. Another sharp pain quickly discouraged this, as the lizard had lashed out with the crop again, but this time, it wasn't as bad since his glove took the worst of the hit. Nevertheless, Sonic immediately snarled at the purple creature, who looked ever so smug and sharp with his thin black moustache and yellow, slit-pupil eyes.

The other gave him a stare of distaste.

"Glovess? You have already fitted him with clothing, my Prince?"

Shadow spun round. The sight of Sonic on a leash had been so odd, he had been just staring for the past few moments. Then, regaining his usual scowl as a sort of protective all-purpose mask, he quickly nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I did." And hoped to everyone who was listening that this was the right answer.

The lizard wrinkled his snout a little, but didn't comment.

"Very well. I think we should take your ssslave to your father for now, perhapss we have made a little progresss today. Though I perssonally doubt it."

The purple reptile started to lead the way to a door, and the cat made to follow. In the process, he yanked at Sonic's leash, who hadn't reacted immediately, never having been collared before.

Sonic's first reaction was to shoot some angry comment, but just checked himself. He had been lashed for talking and for just _touching_ the leash in the last ten minutes. As long as he had no idea what was going on, starting a fight might not be that smart. Especially since he was still feeling weak from that freaky Chaos Control. Where had it taken him? Some weird alternate dimension? At least it seemed that way.

He took a forced step forward as the pull on the leash grew stronger, then for the first time looked at Shadow and stared.

The black hedgehog seemed just as confused as him. Was he, too…?

"Wouldn't you like to accompany uss, my Prince?" the nasal voice of the lizard came again, and Shadow's first reaction was to follow the small procession.

"Shadow?" Sonic mouthed the name instead of saying it out loud, but stared at the black hedgehog intently, searching his red eyes for any hint that this was the same Shadow he had just raced for the white Emerald. The tugging of the leash was a constant annoyance, so he would have to break eye-contact soon.

Then, slowly, almost imperceptibly, the Ultimate Lifeform gave the tiniest of nods.

"Sonic," he mouthed back.

The blue hero felt a wave of relief. Wherever that Chaos Control gone haywire had sent him, at least Shadow had come with him. The bulldog jailer opened the door and all four of them strode out, Sonic feeling completely absurd with the leash around his neck.

A line from an old human movie played in his head, and had the lizard not glanced at him venomously this very moment, Sonic probably would have said it, just as a joke to lighten the tension.

_Shadow, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore…_

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To be continued! Please be nice and review? :3 Would really love to hear your honest opinion on the idea/style/plot...:D


	2. How I Met Your Father

**Chapter 2: How I Met Your Father **

An alternate dimension. A pocket universe. Perhaps something relating to quantum, whatever _that_ meant.

A thousand theories what could be happening right now raced through Sonic's head, each one of them more ridiculous than the last. He was being led like a pet up the stairs from the dungeon he had just arrived in, the surrounding rough stone walls only lit by sparse torches, reminding him of a medieval castle. Time travel? This was too elaborate to be a hoax…

Behind him, Sonic could hear Shadow's peculiar tread that came with his hoverskates, and tried to take reassurance in that. Hoverskates didn't belong into a freaky medieval world. Shadow was a bit of reality he could cling to. Although the thought of being attached to and comforted by _anyone_, let alone Shadow, felt _majorly_ odd.

Sonic swallowed and could feel the choker around his neck. A slave. _Him _of all people. He was still feeling mildly dizzy and weak in the knees, but could sense his strength slowly returning. If he wanted to, he could surely overpower that cat and the lizard…

He twisted his head uncomfortably. The blue hedgehog didn't like being restrained in any way. Robotnik had already tied him up one time too many, but then Sonic usually understood the situation and knew what to do – first: escape, second: thrash place.

Easy.

Sonic knew all about being a prisoner. Being a slave, an owned object, was new.

_Now what should I do?_ he wondered. He also wondered what Shadow was doing or thinking where he walked behind him. That black faker got treated like a freakin royal, while he himself had a collar round his neck and a stinging behind from a whiplash. Great.

But Sonic had no time to rant at his fate any more, as they then rounded a corner, opened a door and he suddenly found himself in a throne room. With Black Doom staring straight at his face.

xxx

Shadow gawped. Black Doom. He had only fought (and _thought_ he'd killed him) barely six months ago. What was he doing _here?!_ In a castle, perched on a throne? It had to be a mirror world or something…

"Well?" The rumbling voice of the alien overlord suddenly spoke up and the cat holding Sonic and the lizard snapped to attention.

"Prince Shadow hass taken the ssslave for another lessson in obedience, your Majesty!" The purple reptile announced, bowing.

"I see he is now collared. Any explanation for that, Lazar?" Black Doom commented and gave Sonic a long stare. When the (frankly, slightly shell-shocked) hedgehog didn't react immediately, the lizard struck the inside of Sonic's knees with the riding crop again, the blue hero unable to sidestep as he was bound.

"On your kneess when the King lookss at you, sslave!" the lizard called Lazar snapped, the scales in his narrow face wrinkling in fury.

Sonic shot him a death glare. He wasn't intimidated by the overseer (or whatever that guy was), yet he also wasn't particularly fond of going up against Black Doom at the moment. He cautiously lowered himself on one knee, consciously shifting his weight and feet so that it more resembled a sprinters' starter position than anything else. They wouldn't catch him unawares that easily.

Satisfied that the hedgehog was apparently subdued, Lazar addressed his monster King yet again.

"Yess, my liege. We thought more contact with the Prince might be beneficial for the training and breaking of thiss sslave. We collared him ssso your ssson might take him with him tonight."

"I see," Black Doom grumbled. "Then he needs a name, too. Shadow, what is he to be called?"

At once, all stares in the room, including Sonic's, were focused on the black hedgehog.

Shadow had the urge to take a step backwards.

"I'm supposed to name him," he stated, more than asked. A quick flash of crimson eyes saw that his blue rival was now looking at him, and it was hard to read.

Was he…pleading? Or was Shadow imagining things? Sonic _didn't_ plead, so it was perhaps just an impression, because the other hedgehog was right now crouching on the floor before him, leashed and collared, looking almost…

…the Ultimate Lifeform didn't finish that thought.

Instead, he faced his so-called 'father' and said loud and clearly, "Sonic. I'll call him Sonic."

"Hmph. Something like 'Toy' might have been more appropriate, but it's your bed slave."

Shadow had thought he'd heard something like a breath of relief coming from the blue hedgehog as soon as he'd consented to give him back his proper name, but it had turned into a violent cough pretty quickly.

"I'm his _what?!_ OW!"

Sonic fell silent as he was whipped again, seemingly stunned. Shadow himself felt a little oddly, but was able to hide that behind his usual mask of indifference. He just shrugged.

Sonic was his…bed slave…

"Very well. If it means you break him properly, it is none of my concern," Black Doom rumbled from his throne, before continuing, "But I decree that he is to receive further corporal punishment still today. In my presence he has been insolent _twice_, and if he weren't your property, Shadow, I would have him put to death today. You may go now," the King finished, waving a dismissive claw at the troupe. Shadow nodded towards the cat, using his best dry voice:

"Good. I want you to take him to my quarters and tie him up there. I will take care of him shortly."

"Yes, my Prince." The grey cat bowed, leading an incredulous-looking Sonic away. Shadow couldn't help but think that under any other circumstances, this would have looked hilarious.

xxx

Sonic felt like the only actor in a surrealist play who hadn't been given the script. He was trying to turn around and look for Shadow, but couldn't do much if he didn't want to get strangled. The middle-aged cat didn't have an air as cruel as the lizard about him, but the grey-furred servant still sported a no-nonsense attitude that probably only came with the years of experience that now lined his feline face.

Sonic was being led by the cat through a series of corridors, while his emotions and thoughts were in turmoil. In this odd universe, he seemed to be supposed to be completely dependent. He wouldn't even own his _name_ if Shadow hadn't decided to give it to him. Technically.

Sonic _hated_ being dependent. He wasn't sure whether he could even trust the black hedgehog, who had just left him alone, either. He had almost felt grateful when Shadow had called him by name, and then immediately became embarrassed because he shouldn't have to feel grateful for something that belonged to him by right, anyway. He _wasn't_ a slave. He was Sonic the Hedgehog.

Now where the hell was Shadow?

They finally came to a halt before another room, its door finely carved with insignia resembling the tacky jewelery around Black Doom's neck. The cat pushed it open, and they entered a chamber which looked a lot richer than the rest of the castle. It was dominated by a broad and comfortable-looking next to a narrow window in the stone wall, in front of which lay a lush, red carpet. Outside there was a black sky, dotted with stars. Nighttime. The second eye-catcher in the room was an elaborate writing desk, covered by books and scrolls. Whoever lived here – and technically, it was supposed to be Shadow – was educated. A wash basin in the corner, another round table in the middle of the room and a huge chest of drawers completed the furniture in his view, but as it turned out, Sonic had overlooked something.

Like the metal ring in the wall the cat was just tying him to.

If there ever had been a captor begging him to escape, this was it.

Sonic eyed the leather leash that ran from his neck – his quills would slice through it in seconds if he threaded it through them. Or he could just untie the knot the cat was making with his own hands. Overpowering the older one would be ridiculously easy, too. And once he was running, _nobody_ could catch him…

Well. Except Shadow, perhaps. And this was exactly the reason why Sonic hadn't yet knocked the grey cat tail over snout into the corner and left this insane castle in the blink of an eye – he had no idea where that black hedgehog was and for some odd reason felt strangely reluctant to leave him behind. But why? Shadow could care for himself after all…

The cat was now done with his work and turned to leave, leaving a still collared Sonic standing next to the ring now, confused.

Why wasn't he fleeing? But then again, he had no idea where to go…the door slammed shut and Sonic shook his head. Not knowing _where_ he was going had never bothered him before. Anyway, first, he would try to get that leash off the hook – seriously, security in here was a _joke._ What were they thinking, that he wasn't able to undo knots?

Soon, the leash came off the ring, and Sonic went to work on the spot where it was tied to his collar – it was bothersome, and Sonic wanted it off. His fingers scrambled over various parts and the hedgehog growled in frustration as it became apparent that it wasn't so much as _tied_ to the collar, but hooked in somewhere, which he couldn't quite open. Now he knew why Amy always needed him to undo her necklaces. The choker itself, as he tried to undo it, proved even more irritating – it was fastened with a small lock and pulling at it was similar to strangling himself.

"Oh, to hell with it!" Sonic snarled, just as the door opened and Shadow stepped in. The blue hedgehog abruptly fell silent and stared. He had never been able to figure the black hedgehog out. That was why he had always found him so fascinating in the first place. What Shadow was thinking now, staring at Sonic who was holding his own leash in his hand, gazing at the other somewhat questioningly, Sonic had no idea.

"Uhm…can you take me off this leash?" he finally asked, not knowing what else to say.

Shadow's answer surprised him. The black hedgehog folded his arms across his chest.

"I don't think I should, actually."

"What?!" Sonic started angrily, "Listen, if you think I'm gonna be some _pet_ for even another minute, you'll-" he snapped, but the other cut him off.

"Shut up. They'll hear you outside. I think we're in some other, backward reality. Everyone keeps staring at my skates. But Black Doom didn't try to kill us, so this must be a completely different world and this one comes with new rules."

"New rules?" Sonic echoed, looking at the Ultimate Lifeform with suspicion. "Like what?"

"Like you being quiet and giving me some time to think, faker. You're supposed to be a slave, obviously."

"Yeah. _Your _slave, if we want to be exact. And that's not gonna happen. Now take me off this leash!"

Shadow pinched the skin above his nose, closing his eyes. "Fine. And then what?"

Sonic floundered a little. "Well…we kick Black Doom's butt and escape?"

"Escape _where_, Sonic?" Shadow asked, peevishly. "This was a dimensional jump via Chaos Control we just pulled and I don't think you can get home by just 'running really fast'."

"Okay, fine!" The blue hedgehog was also getting annoyed now and threw his arms in the air. "_You _tell me what we're supposed to do now, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform! Because I don't wanna stay here!"

Shadow scowled at the hedgehog but then just gave a vague gesture with his hand and took a breath. "If we came here with a Chaos Emerald, we need one to leave again. Do you still have it with you?"

Sonic's anger disappeared as quickly as it had come, the blue hedgehog now looking sheepish. "Uhm…no, it kinda…kinda dropped…"

Shadow merely shrugged, hoping that Sonic wouldn't have the bright idea to ask _him_ why he hadn't held on to the Emerald.

"Fine. So, we'll have to go looking for it. Perhaps in the dungeon where we arrived…"

"Yeah. The dungeon," Sonic repeated a bit unwillingly, the lashes across his back and behind stinging slightly at this unpleasant memory. This world was _twisted._ Forcing himself not to blush at this rather humiliating recollection, he instead made for the door. "I say we go there right now. You coming, Sha-"

There was a knocking.

"My Prince?" the nasal voice of Lazar enquired through the thick wood, "I have come for the dissscipline measuress for the sslave."

Sonic started growling and was about to open the door, presumably to feed the lizard his own crop (or to stick it into a place even _less_ comfortable), but suddenly, a forceful tug on his leash made him gag and stumble backwards. Shadow had grabbed it and was using it now to hold a surprised Sonic close to him as he turned the handle with the other hand and greeted the lizard.

"What measures were you thinking of, Lazar?" he asked coolly, his grip just strong enough that Sonic had too much difficulty getting air to protest vocally.

"Jussst a sstandard whipping, my Prince. However, ssalt in the woundss should prolong the pain to deprive him of sssleep, which isss what we haven't tried yet. It could be the key to finally break him." The lizard lisped, his cruel smile disgusting both hedgehogs similarly.

Shadow nodded. "Yes, that sounds like a plan. Give me the necessary utensils."

The look on Sonic's face probably would have been priceless at this point, but Shadow didn't even glance towards him, his gaze remaining instead on Lazar. "Well?"

"B-but my Prince, sssurely you would like assissstance…?"

Shadow smirked dryly. "I think I can handle Sonic by myself. Crop and salt, please."

The lizard finally handed both items over, reluctance and a certain amount of disappointment in his gaze, but he couldn't disobey. Shadow let Sonic's leash fall to the floor as he took the proffered things and then made to close the door with his foot. "You have been most helpful. That would be all for today."

The wood connected with the frame and Shadow turned around, facing Sonic, crop in his left hand after he had set the salt on the table. "Right. Come here."

The blue hedgehog took another step back, both his palms held up in defensive position.

"Whoa, whoa there, Shads. If you think for _one_ second that I'll let you lash me –"

The whip soared down, giving a rich, smacking sound as it hit its soft target.

Which was a cushion.

For a second, Sonic looked at Shadow as if the black one had just about lost his marbles completely, but then the dark hedgehog hit the cushion another time, harder, and rolled his eyes.

"Now scream already."

Sonic at once understood. The lizard was probably listening. When the crop soared down again, he gave a tentative yelp, thinking that this situation couldn't _possibly_ get more grotesque.

Still, Sonic wasn't a bad actor when he wanted to, and after seventeen years of fighting against megalomaniac villains, he knew _all_ about screaming in pain. Thus, when Shadow had finished about ten minutes later, the cushion was flayed and Sonic's throat was starting to complain, but he had even produced some tear streaks on his cheeks with the water in the basin and ruffled up his fur appropriately. He slumped down on the floor, looking as rumpled as possible (while choosing a position that would nevertheless hide his still unharmed back), and Shadow sprayed some salt around him, before opening the door again.

"Lazar? Are you still here?"

"Certainly, my Prince." The purple lizard melted from the shadows as if he had never been away and sneaked an obvious glance inside the chamber, where Sonic was a trembling picture of misery on the floor. Giving a satisfied nod, the reptile took the rest of the salt and marched off again, Shadow finally closing the door with a sigh, as Sonic picked himself up.

"That was close."

The blue hero just shrugged. "We could have just knocked him unconscious for eavesdropping. These people here are utter creeps. I don't wanna know what getting salt on your flayed back for _real_ would feel like." He shuddered. "Man, being a slave sucks…which reminds me; So, for the third time, take me off that leash!"

Shadow scowled, but still moved closer and started to fumble with the choker around Sonic's neck.

"Fine. I will. But we still need to stay in our roles, so your collar stays on. I don't think Black Doom would take kindly to our situation if he found out that I'm not his son but a traveler from another dimension who probably killed his otherworldly self off. Until we find that Emerald, I suggest we act like be belonged here."

Sonic had difficulty listening to Shadow's words. For some reason, the fleet movements of the black hedgehog's fingers on his vulnerable neck sent shivers down his spine. Sonic was hard pressed not to squirm, but at the same time it felt…pleasurable…

_I must have hit my head somewhere today._ _What the hell was __that_ _thought?_

He breathed a tiny sigh of relief as finally, the small clasp of the leash came open and Shadow stepped away from him, taking it. He quirked an eyebrow. "Are you ticklish, faker?"

If Sonic hadn't known better, the Ultimate Lifeform almost sounded amused.

"Uh…well…" he stammered, before regaining his coherency. "No, not really."

Which was a blatant lie. But usually, Sonic's sides were his weak spot and nobody but Tails and Amy knew. But he was damned to hell if he told Shadow of this, the whole situation was embarrassing enough as it was!

Shadow just shrugged, dismissing the topic. "I suggest we wait until morning to search for the Emerald. It would look suspicious if you were out and about for the next few hours, wounded as you're supposed to be."

Sonic merely yawned. Shadow's words held some truth, and right now he was feeling tired anyway. Shrugging, he strode past the black hedgehog. "Sure. I call bed, by the way." He grinned, before flinging himself onto the soft covers, where he lay on his back, hands laced behind his head.

Shadow stood before him, glaring.

"You know, since I am Prince, this is _my_ bed."

"First come, first served. You've been too slow, as usual."

Shadow's glare raised by a few levels of intensity, but he didn't budge. "I _could_ just leash you again and tie you to that ring."

Sonic quirked an eye open again, challenging. "And _then_, I would strangle you with that very same item in your sleep. Forget it. And don't even think of starting a fight, because we'd get half the castle come running, and probably reduce the bed - and the _rest_ of the furniture - to splinters in the process."

The blue hedgehog's eyes were sparkling with smug humour, knowing he was right. Sonic and Shadow were pretty evenly matched in a battle – while Shadow was the physically stronger, Sonic had agility on his side, twisting and turning out of reach at blinding speeds. The winner of any brawl between the two usually only emerged because of circumstances like luck, handy Chaos Emeralds, allies, or level of health at this point.

When Shadow just continued scowling, Sonic grinned even broader.

"And after all, I _am_ a bed slave…" he chuckled, and the black hedgehog wondered whether it was entirely coincidental that Sonic chose that very same moment to let his angled legs part. Feeling suddenly very uncomfortable, Shadow turned around abruptly, telling himself he _wasn't_ flustered.

"Out. Now."

Sonic merely snorted again and made himself comfortable underneath the sheets, not even bothering to remove his shoes. A silence settled briefly, before the blue hedgehog spoke up again.

"Uhm, I'm gonna blow out the candle now, just so you know."

"I can see in near darkness," came the icy reply from the black hedgehog, who still had his back facing Sonic.

Finally, the blue hero mock sighed. "Okay, whatever. We'll share. I'm not _that_ cruel, you know?"

"…Faker, Robotnik will become a fitness trainer before I consent to sleep in the same bed as you," the answer came with some retardation. Sonic blew out the candle and shrugged.

"Suit yourself, Shads. But don't come crying to me when you wake up sore. I've had my share of nights spent on cold stone in Eggman's various dungeons and it's not the sort of memories I treasure," he replied and turned around, his breathing becoming slow and even, faint moonshine through the window the only light illuminating his slender form underneath the sheets. And it was _chilly_…

It took some time, but finally, Sonic could hear a huffy voice right next to his ear and couldn't hold back a smirk.

"Okay, fine. You win. Now roll the hell over."

_To be continued…_

* * *

What, over a hundred hits and only three reviews? I am _so_ hurt. XD Of course, that only means I appreciate the three comments I got even more, thanks! :) No, but seriously, would love to hear some con-crit or just you what you liked about this thing, I'm not choosy. In return, I'll try to hurry with the next chap. Please R&R! :3


	3. Getting Up And Regretting It

**Chapter Three: Getting Up And Regretting It**

Sonic woke up and blinked when a ray of sun shone onto his face, his nose twitching.

He yawned, sleepily wondering what day it was. On Sundays, Tails often made pancakes for breakfast. Sonic also fervently hoped it wasn't _Monday_ which would mean no pancakes but instead a little fox patiently holding out a shopping list for him. Sonic rolled over to grab his alarm clock to check today's date.

Which was when he found he couldn't. Confused, wondering why his arms above his head wouldn't move, he twisted a bit and tried to prop himself up on his elbows.

And it was at _that_ point that he noticed he was chained to the posts of the bed. Spreadeagled.

Recollection of the previous day is an ugly thing after a hangover, and for Sonic, it was even worse. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings at once, memories of their crazed trip flooding his brain. Black Doom. Somebody whipping him. Trapped in a medieval freak show. By now, Sonic was also aware of the collar around his neck again, an alien thing he still didn't like. And now he was also manacled. Where the hell was Shadow?

Somehow, this question popped up more and more often.

Suddenly, panic flooded him. Had the black hedgehog found the Emerald and gone back without him? Was he really so low to leave Sonic chained for _real_? Before, the leash had been annoying but no threat, yet the cuffs around his wrists weren't leather, but metal…

Sonic kicked the blanket off his body and noted with relief that at least his legs were free.

"Shadow! Dammit!" he barked, hoping to draw the black hedgehog from hiding, but nobody came. Sonic continued lying upon the bed, feeling like an idiot or perverse sex toy, when somebody knocked at the door.

"My Prince? I'm bringing the breakfast."

"That faker of a Prince isn't here right now! But now that you mention it, I _am_ kinda hungry…" Sonic called, anger in his voice being replaced by sudden interest during the last part.

The door opened, revealing…

"Jet?!" Sonic asked, incredulous. The green hawk Sonic had raced only a year ago at the Extreme Gear Tournament stepped through the door, but there were some subtle changes. His expression was the exact same of sneering contempt, yet his gloves, shoes and goggles were gone, replaced by much more simple brown leather counterparts, which fitted the scenery better.

"Jet! Let me up!" Sonic called, straining against his bonds, hoping that maybe this version of the bird would be at least as semi-friendly as he had been when their ways had parted the last time.

Jet set the tablet of food he was carrying down. And Sonic knew at once from the expression on his face that it was completely hopeless.

"Now why would I?" the hawk asked, smirking as he gazed at Sonic like a connoisseur would eye a fine wine. "It is a position absolutely fitting for a bed slave. Yet I would have thought that the Prince had taught you enough obedience that he wouldn't have to chain you up to ravage you."

Tan cheeks flushed at the not-really-subtle implication in that statement, but, being Sonic, he didn't stay flustered for long.

"Yeah, well, maybe, but Shadow isn't here right now, so I want _off!_"

Jet whisked the riding crop Sonic had already learned to hate from the writing desk in an instant, his humour gone.

"How dare you speak your Master's name?! On top of that, how dare you speak at_ all!_ I should whip you twenty times for this!" he snarled, crop raised warningly.

Sonic's eyes widened. He wasn't _afraid_, exactly, since some neon bird with a horse whip and an attitude problem wasn't really your idea of mind-numbing terror anymore when you had already faced everything from demi-watergods to ten-storey-killer-robots to metal copies of yourself gone gaga, but still…

In a one-on-one fight, Sonic could probably overpower everyone in this castle (with the possible exception of Black Doom or Shadow, anyway) but right now he was pretty much _helpless_. While he doubted that Jet would harm him seriously_,_ he still couldn't escape and he _really_ didn't want another red streak across his body…

Jet, apparently taking the silence of Sonic for genuine fear, smirked in satisfaction, his sneering, smug voice (that in Sonic's opinion sounded like a parrot stuck in a gramophone) annoying the hedgehog further.

"There's a good bed slave…" The hawk twisted the riding crop idly in his hand, before slowly, almost gently, bringing it down on Sonic's collarbone, trailing a circle on his chest.

The hedgehog glared daggers at him and twisted a little, but wasn't quite sure whether that was enough to warrant a kick from his powerful legs. Jet was an utter creep, but Sonic usually avoided physical violence against living beings, if possible. He turned his head away, trying to ignore the ticklish movement of the crop.

"A pretty thing the Prince got there indeed…"

However, Jet was _pushing_ it.

The hawk grinned, and suddenly Sonic could feel the tip of the thing gliding down his sternum, across his belly button and then…

The hedgehog jerked violently in surprise as it had almost reached the area in between his thighs.

Jet stopped in his movement and merely smirked broader at the sight of a panting and furious Sonic.

"Still so sensitive down there, slave? Your Master should treat you harsher…"

The blue hero was just about to shout a string of profanities at the hawk that would leave his freakin _descendants_ embarrassed for the next ten generations still, but by then, the bird had already turned around.

"Eh, but unfortunately it's not for me to tell the Prince what to do. Mind you, if he ever gets tired of you, tell him I would very much like to purchase you second-hand…"

He placed a plate and a glass of wine from his tablet on the small round table carefully, dropped a bowl of unidentifiable mush on the floor, and then took the tablet under his arm again, leaving with a last, smug look in a still prostrate Sonic's direction.

The blue hero continued lying on the bed, blushing and furious at Shadow for leaving him in this position.

_At least he handcuffed me with my gloves still on,_ Sonic thought surly,_ otherwise my skin would probably be raw already._

He stiffened then, refusing to think anything even remotely positive about the black hedgehog. Sonic was annoyed and insulted, and determined to stay that way.

As it was, he had already started to doze off again after half an hour of forced inactivity, when the creaking of the door snapped him wide awake again at once. His head twisted and emerald eyes narrowed instantly.

"Shadow! What the _hell_ did you think you were doing?!"

The black hedgehog merely raised his eye ridges, unimpressed. "Good morning to you too, Sonic. Something is bothering you, I take it?"

"Oh, I dunno, someone only _chained me to the bed,_" Sonic's voice was dripping with enough sarcasm to let milk curdle.

Shadow shrugged, inspecting the food Jet had brought. "If I had known you'd wake up in such a mood, I would have gagged you, too." The blue hedgehog's yelling was becoming annoying, yet he had to admit that he _did_ like the view of that toned body writhing on those sheets…

Shadow tried to concentrate on the broccoli.

"Are you completely insane? Because I'm not sure you know that this looks like you about to _rape_-"

Shadow whisked around at once, eyes subtly widened for once. "You're not _seriously_ suggesting I would ever do that."

Sonic, who didn't, still turned his head away, scowling. "Well, if you're not, then get these handcuffs off. I mean, where did you even _find_ them?"

Shadow went around the bed without another word and started to work on the locks.

"They were actually hanging from all four posts of the bed. The original Prince must have had some use for them with his bed slaves, I suppose."

Sonic, who could feel the already familiar heat in his face creeping up again, merely yanked his wrists to check whether the shackle had already loosened enough.

"Keep _still_, for Chaos' sake!"

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have chained me up in the first place. What were you even trying to do, make this whole charade more realistic?" Sonic's first hand was released and the blue hedgehog took the opportunity to roll onto his belly, and watched Shadow work on the second one.

"I wanted to explore the castle a bit, but I needed you to stay in the room. You were still asleep, anyway, so I thought you might not even notice."

"Geez, Shads, ever heard of something like 'writing a note'?" Sonic's free hand went to his forehead. "You freaked me out big time."

The black hedgehog gave his supposed slave a dry smile. "Yes, Sonic. And I suppose you actually would have stayed in the room like I asked you to, instead of becoming bored and running off, completely wrecking our pretense in the process."

"Well, maybe I would have stayed," Sonic replied defensively, while privately knowing that Shadow was about as close to the truth as it got. The blue hedgehog sat up on the bed, glad for his regained movement and massaged his wrists a bit, licking over a chafe.

Shadow watched him a bit, suddenly feeling a strange sting in his chest as he realized he had hurt Sonic, but couldn't say anything when the blue hero already looked up.

"So, um, anyway, you should order another breakfast. Because I think I'm supposed to eat from this bowl on the floor and it looks even worse than Tails' cooking when he isn't making pancakes, which means it's probably poisonous and I won't even _touch_ it. We need a second portion of whatever you're having."

Shadow shook his head. "No. I couldn't do that without it looking odd, I think. This reality obviously doesn't spoil slaves."

Sonic opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off as the black hedgehog continued:

"…you can have mine."

"Wait, what?" the blue hero sounded surprised. "Then what are you gonna eat?"

Shadow shrugged. "Nothing."

"Ehrm, Shads, I appreciate the sentiment, but…"

Now it was Shadow's turn to smirk. "Don't assume anything about me that you don't know for sure, Sonic. Fact is, I don't _need_ food. Not for a few months, anyway."

"Come again?" Sonic was giving the black hedgehog a blank stare, while Shadow looked as smug as a magician who had just produced an elephant from his hat.

"Ultimate Lifeform. My metabolism can run on the surrounding Chaos Energy for considerable time. I absorb it like you breathe air."

Sonic blinked. "Wow," he said finally. Then his eyes lit up. "So, uh, you wouldn't mind if I dug in right now, would you?" he asked, eying the tablet hungrily. Shadow just shook his head and leaned against the wall instead, while Sonic devoured the cold meat, black bread and vegetables on the plate as if famished. He didn't care much for the wine, so Shadow barely saved it before it could go out the window, and Sonic drank from the untouched water of the wash basin instead.

Shadow probably wouldn't have eaten even if there had been enough for two. While he had favourite foods that he enjoyed eating just like everyone else, digesting also meant there accumulated….exhaust….over time, and Shadow had no wish to visit any 'sanitary installments' in _this_ era. Not eating of course had the disadvantage that his stomach would complain horribly for two days, until his system noticed that he had decided to run solely on Chaos Energy again, but that was a regular occurrence in the Ultimate Lifeform's life.

While Sonic ate, Shadow told him of his encounters this day so far. According to him, the castle was huge. There were continually people about, the whole place more like an army headquarters in the middle of a war than a place of ancient dignity. There were traders, messengers, dignitaries, guards, and seemingly an entire battalion of servants and slaves running around, the latter always distinguishable from the rest by the fact that they wore collars…and collapsed to their knees as soon as someone of noble rank went past.

(The latter worried Shadow a bit. He knew that Sonic would rather give any passing noble a thumbs-up and a 'Yo!' as greeting and could already see how _that_ scene would play out.)

The castle also had multiple storeys plus a cellar where they had arrived last night. It was an endless maze, and Shadow hadn't even found the exit yet – you could get lost pretty easily.

"That was also why I sent that cat servant out with you first from the throne room yesterday," he explained, "I needed to follow you in secret so nobody would notice that the Prince had mysteriously forgotten where his sleeping quarters were."

Sonic nodded, absorbing these facts. He longed to do some exploring, too.

"It's about midday right now. I suggest we go to the dungeon in the afternoon."

Sonic nodded again. "Sure. I just hope the Emerald is still there…"

"Good," Shadow replied, "I think I'll go through these documents here on the writing desk, maybe they'll spout some useful information on anything we'd need to know."

Sonic used the time to groom himself with a brush he'd located in the topmost drawer and stepped in front of the mirror as he came to work on his head quills which he wasn't able to see without a reflection.

"…Shadow?" Sonic raised an eye ridge as he suddenly beheld the black hedgehog in the mirror as well, still sitting at the table but gazing at Sonic's back with the strangest expression. Now he turned around to the documents in one lightning-quick movement, however.

"Nothing! Finish your grooming so we can leave."

"…whatever." Slightly spooked – that expression had looked _weird_! – he turned around to the mirror again, gazing at himself, bed-head style now gone. (or at least, as tamed as possible in Sonic's case). His eyes came to rest on the collar he wore and Sonic could see it for the first time properly. It was a fine red leather choker, clinging just below the jaw line, with a small lock at the front that also held the hook for the leash. Sonic sarcastically thought the only thing missing would be a bell. He tugged once more uselessly at it, then sighed and, trying not to think about what that collar signified, turned around.

"Okay. Let's go."

Wordlessly, Shadow rose from his seat at the desk and took the leash where it lay next to the documents. Sonic immediately recoiled inwardly.

"What are you planning to do with that?" he asked, eying the black one warily.

"Well, what does it look like I'm planning to do?"

"Putting me on that leash. Again," Sonic said, refusing to take a step backwards, but his gaze now held a warning. Shadow in turn looked annoyed, which was interesting. Usually, it wasn't very easy to get a rise out of him or see him display _any_ feelings at all, but prolonged exposure to Sonic's company apparently could thaw the icy exterior of anyone.

Shadow took another step forward, the blue hedgehog now being within arm's reach.

"You're obviously not broken. So it's the leash or staying here," he said, holding the thing out. Shadow wasn't even lying. When he had been on his morning inspection of the strange castle, he had seen quite a few domestic slaves at work in several places, none of them leashed, bound, or even watched by an overseer. However, on his way back he had passed Lazar, who had been leading along yet another collared Sapient, a magenta chameleon that looked disturbingly familiar to Shadow. Trying to cover up his shock he'd asked:

"Yet another slave, Lazar?"

The reptile servant had bowed, before nodding. "Yess. One of those 'ninjasss' from the Easstern Realm. Hiss Majessty dessiress thisss captured one to be trained ass sslave, sssince (here Shadow had wondered whether Lazar wasn't using words containing certain 'consssonants' on purpose) it would be the ultimate insssult to the enemy. However, breaking him hasss been proving to be equally ass difficult asss your new bed sslave, ssso it lookss like it will be ssome time until we can have him walk around without the leash…"

With that, the lizard had bowed again, before striding off with the chameleon in tow. Shadow had watched the foreign Sapient with the yellow horn on top of his snout and noticed that, although seemingly in great pain, indicated by a limp and the way he clutched his wrist, the chameleon was still carrying himself with a certain pride and poise.

Shadow had raised his eye ridges. If this dimension's version of Espio was anything like the one he knew, the chameleon would be out of here by midnight…not to mention trying to break someone like him was similar to the attempt of sharpening a sword with a slice of cheese.

But it _had_ sprouted some useful info. For example, the fact that now he had to sweet-talk Sonic into holding still and letting himself be put on that damn leash.

"Come here."

"No way."

This was going to be a _looong_ day…

* * *

**Hey, this is looking good in the review section! Meaning, I made this chappie a bit longer than intended. :D Thanks, guys! Soo, would love to hear what you think of it - anything you found particuarly cute/funny/utterly disturbing? ;) Read ya soon! :3**


	4. Dungeon Treasure Hunt!

**Chapter 4: Dungeon Treasure Hunt! **

"Look, can't we _pretend_ I was broken? Then I wouldn't need a leash," Sonic suggested, eyeing the offensive item in Shadow's hand unwillingly.

Shadow looked at the blue hedgehog. Sonic stood there, head tilted to one side, his eyes and fur bright and shining, ears pricked forward and expression curious. Feet stuck in battered, bright red sneakers occasionally tapped the floor in impatience while his white-gloved hands were either gesturing animatedly, or crossed in front of his chest, shoulders either squared in challenge or relaxed in content, his posture always suggesting a self-assurance backed by an not unimpressive ego and even more fighting skill.

When Sonic raised his left eye ridge, asking "Well?", Shadow sighed.

"Faker, there is not _one_ aspect of you that would suggest submission. Here are _dignitaries_ running around looking more slave-like than you."

"Hey, can I help my good looks?" Sonic asked, grinning, before becoming serious again and more sombre. "So that means I can't take a step without some piece of leather dangling from my neck, yes?"

Shadow shrugged. "Not today, anyway. Maybe we can work something out later. But if you would finally come over _here_, maybe we'd find the Emerald in an hour's time and wouldn't even have to have this discussion. Meaning, _move_ it."

Sonic huffed in displeasure, then sighed and stepped over to Shadow. He grimaced as the other one raised the leash, looking as if he had to receive another whipping, but turned his head aside obediently so Shadow could hook the thing in. Again, the gloved fingers of the other where they touched his throat and chest in the process sent shivers down his spine, but Sonic forced himself not to react. It was confusing him and he tried not to think about it, yet he couldn't help but breathe a tiny sigh of relief as the black hedgehog stepped back again.

Shadow gave the leash an experimental tug, at which Sonic scowled faintly, and when everything seemed to be in order, the pair made for the door.

Shadow led the way, Sonic walking slightly behind him, feeling uncomfortable with the leash around his neck, twisting his head involuntarily at times. Yet it was odd – he still didn't like neither the leash nor the collar, yet his resistance wasn't as great as it had been when it was the cat holding him. Somehow, when it was Shadow in possession of the leash, the urge to run became a bit fainter…

He looked at Shadow again and had to admit he liked what he saw – unlike the grey-furred, elderly cat servant, the black hedgehog carried himself with a certain pride and his stance suggested energy and refined strength, which Sonic always appreciated in both allies and opponents. Furthermore, while Jet, for example, always moved about with an aura of boastfulness bordering on arrogance (and Sonic had to admit he himself wasn't entirely innocent in that department, either), almost as if he had to challenge everyone he saw, Shadow was entirely different.

He walked with an air of assured calmness, the opposite to Sonic whose moods were as consistent and his temper as tranquil as a butterfly in a tornado. Sonic regarded Shadow as an equal, so while it was still a bit embarrassing to be led around like a pet it wasn't as bad as it had been with the aged cat.

The Ultimate Lifeform was a bit like Knuckles, the blue speedster mused, but Sonic liked the fact that Shadow, like himself, wasn't tied down by anything. He didn't need a giant green gem stone to cool down. Rather, the black hedgehog was his own resting place and Sonic, leashed and trotting along behind Shadow, wondered whether that might be why he often sought out the other's company…and right now didn't mind that terribly to have him holding him. Shadow, the calm eye of Sonic's tornado?

The blue hedgehog shook his head again, wondering whether there might have been something in the food that sent him rambling like that.

He strode a bit ahead of Shadow, remembering the direction of the dungeons from yesterday. Now it was the black hedgehog who got a good look at Sonic. Ever since he had hooked in the leash, he had felt a bit…peculiar.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of that warm feeling in his stomach (after all, without food there was not much that could reasonably generate it) but it was…nice.

Sonic for the most time annoyed him, yet for some reason, it was a lot more agreeable for Shadow when the other one was restrained a bit…

Usually, Sonic was darting around and about, a prankster always seeking to get the drop on Shadow, to challenge him or to get him involved in freak adventures always ending in near-catastrophes and/or thrill rides. Sometimes Shadow had gone along, because there were certain…addicting qualities about Sonic. The blue hedgehog was an enigma. Constantly changing, his emerald eyes always twinkling as if he'd just heard a joke Shadow didn't get, while being his rival in speed and at the same time also…beautiful…

Shadow watched the toned muscles underneath the sleek blue fur in Sonic's walking motion. It was entracing. He felt a sudden surge of irrational pride at holding the leash, as if Sonic was truly his property at the moment, as if he was the sole owner of this beautiful object and free to do with it what he wanted, watch it as he pleased. But looking at Sonic, that seemed so far-fetched…

The blue hedgehog was still occasionally twisting in his collar, straining against his leash and couldn't be further from the definition of 'tamed'. His head was still held high as if he owned the place. Comparing Sonic to the other Mobians that were slaves in this castle was like trying to compare a wild cheetah to crippled housecats.

Shadow briefly wondered whether he would like it if Sonic stopped being the cocky, grinning, unpredictable hero/mischief-maker and instead was something more like one of those pets of the castle, not constantly challenging but demure and obedient…but before he could pursue this line of thought further, a movement out of the corner of his eye attracted his attention and he yanked the leash on instinct. Sonic, who had been about to open a door to their right, stumbled backward, choking.

"Not through _there_, faker!" Shadow hissed, ignoring the glare Sonic sent him as he was trying to straighten his tight collar again, "That is Black Doom's throne room, remember? We need to take another way."

"Great!" Sonic shot back, "Next time, something like 'Stop, Sonic!' would suffice, y'know? If I didn't know better I'd say you were _enjoying_ this."

Shadow didn't reply. Instead, he merely shrugged and tugged at the leash again, albeit a lot more gently.

"Just let me lead. We'll come into the more crowded areas of the castle now, so try to act a bit more genuine."

"You want me to grovel at your feet or is walking on all fours enough?"

Shadow, who _had_ seen some slaves walking on all fours, didn't grace that with a reply. Instead, he resisted to yank Sonic's leash once more as the punishment he felt he deserved (which probably would have meant a brawl in the corridor before long) and just continued through another door, into the more public domains of the castle.

Sonic's eyes went wide. They were now walking along a sort of balcony, with a wide hall below. People hurried past them, and for the first time he could also see other slaves. Nearly all of them were without clothing and Sonic never caught a glimpse at their faces. Without exception, they all slumped down onto their knees as soon as they caught sight of Shadow, and Sonic felt bitter. He was pretty much the personification of freedom on Mobius, fighting against Robotnik and his world oppression schemes since he was twelve, and he had never liked the thought of people not being free to do what they wanted with their lives.

Of course, it was bitter irony that right now he was leashed as well, appearing to anyone but Shadow to be nothing more than another object to be treated as such. Sonic wondered briefly whether it would be possible to free them. After all, fighting tyrants was his job and Black Doom pretty much had that written all over his pretty face.

A few older, higher-ranking anthropomorphs, designated by their ornate clothing, bowed their heads politely when they went past Shadow, but gave Sonic, who was walking with quick strides and craning his neck in all possible directions to take in the sights of the castle, disapproving looks. One of them stared at his shoes in particular.

"Will you _cut_ it!" Shadow mumbled under his breath as he let himself fall back next to Sonic, "For all they know, we're going to abuse you for the next few hours, so there's _no need to look excited_."

"What?!" Sonic looked at him, startled by this idea, but then they were already descending a staircase and the familiar coldness of the dungeon settled on his skin, making him shiver.

They reached a door, and even before Shadow could raise his free hand to knock, the heavy wood moved to open and the bulldog's head appeared, the jailer bowing.

"My Prince. I have been awaiting you."

"Quite." Shadow stepped through the door, pulling a Sonic who didn't have to fake his awkwardness this time around with him. Inside, he stopped, as his gaze fell onto an all-too-familiar figure.

"Lazar."

The lizard nodded, inclining his head. "Yesss. Your father wass assking me to check up on your sslave. Hass the punishment of yessterday had any effect?" he asked, shooting a side-long glance at Sonic, who tried (and failed) to look very broken. Everything about him still said something along the lines of 'just _touch_ me, you over-grown newt and I'll take your tail off, see if it grows back' and Shadow was briefly wondering whether it would get them into trouble before long.

"We're making slow progress," he finally said, dryly. "But I'm not about to give up. I would like to use some devices today that won't leave any marks on the body. Or at least, not where they would marr my sight of him. Any suggestions?" He asked, looking from Lazar to the bulldog and back. Both nodded and Lazar hurried off. Gazing at the bulldog, Shadow also added: "And a gag. Bring me one."

Sonic felt a chill inside that had nothing to do with the outside temperatures. He could only imagine what this conversation would feel like if he wasn't here to search for an Emerald, but if the content of Shadow's speech actually applied to him for real…

The items were proffered to Shadow and Lazar explained how and where each of them was used in detail. The black hedgehog listened with outward polite interest while Sonic felt utterly repulsed by the sadistic smiles the purple reptile shot him from time to time, obviously already imagining the blue hedgehog screaming in pain only moments from now.

"And finally, there'ss thisss," Lazar finished his monologue, holding up one particular item. Shadow gave it a stare.

"It's a piece of ginger. I fail to see how anyone could be tortured by that, even if you added it to their food in very large quantities."

Sonic, who was standing next to the black hedgehog during the explanation, snorted. Or he would have, if Shadow (who had expected this reaction) hadn't pulled his leash abruptly downward, thereby hiding the amusement of his supposed slave. When the blue hedgehog uprighted himself, his expression was carefully neutral. Sonic was surprised that he didn't feel annoyed with Shadow for abusing his power over him this time around – instead, he found it rather delightful to discover the other had also a sense of humour, even if it was a dry sort.

"What funny quipss you make, my Prince," Lazar dead-panned instead, reinforcing Sonic's opinion that the lizard acted as something like Teflon in regards to jokes. "But let me asssure you that there are very interesssting uses for ginger indeed."

Shadow merely raised an eyebrow at this, while inwardly wishing they could finally begin with the search. However, Lazar seemed to be intent on sharing his secrets on plant roots and continued merrily.

"The ginger root containss some esssential oilss that will causse a highly unpleasssant, burning sssensation if applied to…ssenssitive sskin. If you peel it like thiss-" the purple lizard lectured, carving into the ginger piece with a dagger from his belt until the outer brown hull was completely gone, "It can be ussed for sssome rather humiliating punishment that iss alsso very effective esspecially in the breaking of bed ssslavess. You ssee," he said, grinning with his narrow tongue flicking at them like a miniature whip itself, "We will bend your blue hedgehog over the table, then lift his tail and insert-"

"_I get the picture_," Shadow interrupted, forcing his face not to twitch. Next to him, Sonic was mortified.

"You can leave it in there for hoursss."

"I am thrilled beyond belief," Shadow stated with all the enthusiasm of an undertaker. "And if you can leave me alone now, I will call for you when I'm finished," the black hedgehog said, his impatience and annoyance with the reptile growing.

Again the annoyed expression flashed across Lazar's face, and he was just about to say something, but Shadow cut him off.

"I will remind you that Sonic is _my_ bed slave. As such, sights of him in vulnerable positions belong to _me_ and to noone else. Leave."

"Of course, my Prince." This time, Lazar gave a small, understanding smile instead, even while he was looking at the floor and departed without resistance. The bulldog followed suit, and as soon as they were out the door, Sonic collapsed against the wall, a shudder running through his lithe form.

"Good _grief_, Shadow!"

"What?" The black hedgehog asked, stopping where he had just begun to unhook the leash from the blue neck again.

"How can you talk about that so…so callously? It's freaking me out - and I'm not even going anywhere _near_ the ginger. You act like the real thing!"

Sonic opened his eyes and briefly made eye contact with the red gaze of his rival, almost pinning him against the wall to open the small hatch that connected the lead with the collar.

Sonic suddenly felt rather hot and tried a small, awkward sidestep with the little freedom that the leash allowed.

Shadow merely removed the thing with one final fumble and then shrugged.

"You forget where I grew up, Sonic. I am a scientific experiment of Professor Gerald Robotnik. I was alive five years before the ARK was raided by GUN and spent my entire childhood up there. And one thing I can tell you:" he said, crimson eyes suddenly ablaze, "The attitude of these people towards their slaves differs only very slightly to that of scientists to their "projects". I know _all_ about how to act in environments like these."

Sonic winced as if Shadow had lashed him at this point. He shivered again.

"Geez, Shadow, that's really…" he began, not knowing how to put the next thoughts into words, but the black hedgehog waved him off, weary.

"What's past stays past. You can't change things that already happened."

Sonic swallowed. Whenever he remembered what Shadow had been through in his past he wondered anew how the black hedgehog still had come out almost sane. In these moments, the blue hero always felt obligated to comfort the other somehow…yet this time, there was also something new.

Shadow right now was the one who could protect both of them in this strange world, who understood the rules. Sonic could probably have fought his way out of the castle, yet this was a much easier way to remain undetected. He almost felt relaxed. It sure was nice not to be the one who always bore the responsibility for everyone, the one who had to bust everyone out when something went south…yes. He had probably felt calmer in Shadow's presence because right now in this world the black hedgehog also meant something that only very rarely featured in Sonic's personal microcosm.

Protection.

Feeling slightly better, the blue hero dislodged himself from the wall again.

"So, any charades at the beginning, or do we start to look for that Emerald now?"

Shadow smirked. "You underestimate me, faker. Why do you think I asked for a gag? It won't arise any suspicions without you screaming this time. Plus, those torture instruments were designed not to leave any marks, which means as long as you limp a bit when we emerge, it shouldn't pose any problem."

Sonic's eye ridges had risen. Never much of a planner himself, he was distinctly impressed.

"Okay. That means I'll look through the room on the left, you through this one?"

Shadow shrugged. "Suits me."

Both hedgehogs started digging through damp straw and crawling around under various devices, or opening drawers and peering in shelves in case someone had found the Emerald and put it away for later examination.

Sonic's hatred for Black Doom grew as he beheld the various contraptions of the chambers, always imagining himself chained in their manacles, screaming and probably pleading. Hell yeah, he would _love_ to overthrow that despot…

The dungeon actually consisted of an entire _series_ of rooms and therefore prolonged their search quite a bit, although once they had found their arrival spot, they still were empty-handed. None of them had seen anything that looked remotely like an Emerald, or even caught a flash of light refracted by a splinter of it.

A few hours later, a fatigued Sonic slumped down next to Shadow, who was leaning against a rack, his expression one of contemplation.

"It's not here," Sonic moaned, again annoyed by his collar which he now imagined was restricting his air supply.

Shadow shook his head. "No. It isn't."

"Then what do we do now? I'm sick and tired of this place and I'm starving."

"Well, first of all you let me think," Shadow shot back, yet some strange voice in his head also shouted that he was supposed to feed Sonic now, which was odd. Sonic could care for himself. But then again, in this world he couldn't, because he was supposed to be a slave, after all…

_And you're his Master,_ the same voice said and Shadow scowled at nothing in particular. He wasn't Sonic's "Master". Sonic wasn't even _behaving_ like a slave. He was probably fantasizing because this twisted world was driving everyone nuts before long. But when he looked at the tired blue form next to him, collared and with a drooping head, it was almost as if…

Sonic broke off this train of thought.

"Hey! Do you think this world had Chaos Emeralds of its own? Maybe we don't have to find out where the white one from our world went, we can find one of theirs!" he exclaimed, eyes shining with new energy.

Shadow tilted his head. "Hmm…I don't know. All I can say for sure is that there have to be one or more Emeralds, because otherwise there wouldn't be so much Chaos Energy in the atmosphere that I could live off it for a few months. But I can't determine whether that's just the one we came with or other ones, and I also can't sense where they are."

"Hmm." Sonic creased his face up again. "We need more information. But I guess we can't ask the others outright whether they've seen a giant white gem. Or at least," he added with a dry look, "_I_ can't. _You_ could probably command them to answer you, or something."

"Yes, though it will have to be subtle. I have a hunch Black Doom better not find out what we're looking for. After all, the _last_ time that megalomaniac got his claws on them, we had a comet crash into the planet."

"Yeah." Sonic nodded. "Still, maybe I could talk to some cleaning slaves when nobody's looking. Maybe they would share some info with me."

"I'm not sure." Shadow said, suddenly smirking. "Who says I can let you run around loose?"

"Oh, come on!" The blue hedgehog punched his rival lightly into the shoulder, startling Shadow, who had never experienced any close companionship with Sonic before. Twinkling green eyes met surprised crimson ones, and the speedster continued: "There's slaves running around all over the place. Who will care about another one? Besides, if I have to wear this collar, I at least want to get some use out of it," he added, once more pulling at the choker in discomfort.

"Hmm…if you absolutely have to," Shadow acquitted, though he was reluctant to let Sonic out of his sight. "I will see who I can talk to as well. Or maybe see if there are any records where the finding of a Chaos Emerald might be written down. But I suggest tomorrow, because it is already late and you should have some food."

Surprised at the unusual consideration of the black hedgehog, Sonic raised an eye ridge, jumped off the rack and gave a small grin. "Suits me fine, Shads!"

"But _first_," - and here a hand suddenly grabbed his collar, yanking him back – "you do about a hundred push-ups. Now."

"What?!"

"We're coming from a torture chamber. I want to present you to them matted with sweat and trembling from exhaustion. I'll count them for you, if you want to."

Sonic looked at Shadow incredulously. But the black hedgehog merely smirked, in his eyes dancing sparks of a wicked amusement that Sonic before had glimpsed only ever so rarely. The blue hedgehog shook his head, but then got down reluctantly. Before he started, he just shot Shadow one last look.

"…as soon as we're home, I'll have horrible revenge. You know that, right?"

Shadow just smirked broader. Sonic was a worthy opponent and maybe, he thought, he even preferred someone with a bit of spite in him and a mind of his own instead of a brain-dead puppet like the other slaves seemed to him. So, he merely leaned back in content, and watched Sonic doing his forced work-out.

"Consider it payback for the Emerald you stole from me in the first place, faker. And don't talk back or I'll have to use that gag."

"…make that horrible, _horrible_ revenge."

_To be continued..._

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Well, well, well, that's looking _awesome_ in the review section! :D Meaning, another long chappie. ;) Thanks so much for the feedback, just keep it coming! Fav lines, fav scenes, questions - anything. See ya next time!


	5. Midnight Contemplations

**Chapter 5: Midnight Contemplations**

Sonic had _excellent_ endurance. Even Shadow had to admit that, watching him doing the push ups, still going strong and even at forty….fifty…sixty…seventy was starting to push it, though, and the black hedgehog nodded in satisfaction at the straining blue body.

But Sonic also never gave up. It was this quality that probably would have made him completely unsuitable as a slave, but right now it was very useful in keeping up pretenses.

Going past eighty was taking its toll, and Sonic was panting slightly now. His body was built for speed, not upper-body strength, even if his muscles were still well-toned, the whole form that of an acrobat.

Shadow _liked_ watching him excert himself on the dungeon floor. And wondered why. Sonic…had always entranced him in his running, his fighting, but lately these feelings had grown stronger…

Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine….

"Hundred!" Sonic panted, collapsing and drawing himself up onto knees. "A hundred push-ups in just about three minutes. Like to see you top that quota with backflips, Shads," he said, grinning up at the black hedgehog sitting on the rack. Shadow nodded, before sliding down and immediately leashing a surprised Sonic again.

"Hey, what…?"

"We need to go now, before you get your breath back, otherwise you won't look very convincing."

"Urgh." Sonic was more dragged upright than standing by himself, but tried his best to follow along. The pair emerged with Shadow pulling a (for the moment) rather realistically aching and stumbling Sonic outwards, his arms and shoulders trembling from exhaustion.

"Gone well, My Prince?"

"Yes. I used the water treatments and the screws. It worked splendidly."

The bulldog nodded like an IT-expert talking to a spirited computer hacker amateur, and vanished into his dungeon again. Shadow noticed that most of the looks they got from people right now were a lot more approving. Sonic was looking slightly pained, his shoulder muscles aching from the excercize and his ears were folded flat against his head while Shadow on purpose strode quickly enough that Sonic had difficulty keeping up. At least until they finally paused in a corridor not that far away from their chamber and Sonic had gotten his breath back, was standing upright again, his breathing even, exhaustion mostly gone.

Shadow then showed him another part of the castle, figuring that by now it shouldn't hurt too much to have people see Sonic, who still looked rumpled, and their excursion lasted until early evening, when they came to a halt in another lonely part of the castle and the blue hedgehog's stomach gave an audible growl.

"Oh. Back to our dorm, I say. Jet had better brought food by now…" the blue hero perked up at that and made to stride towards their chamber.

"Jet? The hawk?" Shadow asked, remaining where he was, therefore bringing an already walking Sonic up short.

"Yes," the blue hedgehog replied, rubbing his neck where the leash had chafed him, but for once not scowling at Shadow, "He…uh…is a servant in this castle." Sonic did _not_ want to go into how their meeting this morning had gone. "Still an utter jerk, though. But doing just fine under Black Doom's rule, it seems. Can we _go_ now?" he asked somewhat impatiently, jerking his head backwards so the hand of Shadow holding him came up. "I'm hungry."

"Sure," the black hedgehog actually managed something like an almost-smile this time. "After I pushed you so hard, you do deserve something to eat," he said, walking up to Sonic so the leashed hedgehog could also continue on his way.

"Pushing me hard?" Sonic laughed. "Shads, compared to spending an entire day running from Amy, this was a cakewalk!"

xxx

As it turned out, dinner _had_ arrived, and the full bowl of slave-food for Sonic had been taken away as well, to be replaced with a new one, complete with a second one that held water. After being taken off the leash, the blue hedgehog dug into the Prince's meal ravenously, Shadow once more simply keeping to the wine provided. His rival and supposed slave drank a bit clumsily from the water bowl, having a hard time to stop the liquid from spilling out at the sides of his mouth when the tilted it to his face, but apart from a few complaints about the absence of Chili Dogs, Sonic seemed to be quite fond of Black Doom's kitchen, cleaning the plate with a fervour that made Shadow wonder just where all the food went.

Finally, Sonic leaned back and stretched himself on the chair.

"Boy, what a day…and we haven't even been for a full twenty-four hours in this dimension yet."

Shadow nodded absently, gazing out the window. The sun was indeed setting by now, yet it had been night-time and not just evening when they had arrived yesterday. He idly wondered whether a day here lasted twenty-four hours as well, when suddenly, a knocking interrupted his train of thought.

_What is this place, a train station, or why do people insist on running in here?_ The black hedgehog thought irritably, before calling out: "Yes?"

"It is I, my Prince, your servant Greytail. I have come to take back your dishes, if you have finished your dinner. May I come in?"

Sonic and Shadow both exchanged an alarmed look. It wouldn't do for the servant outside to see the blue hedgehog sitting with his feet propped up on the Prince's writing desk, yet there was no time to leash him properly without there being a suspicious delay.

"It is…rather inconvenient at the moment," Shadow called out, while waving furiously to Sonic to at least get his sneakers off the wood.

"Is something wrong, my Prince?" Now the voice sounded concerned, and the last thing both hedgehogs wanted was for people to think something was off with the Prince.

"No, nothing at all. I'll open the door for you," Shadow said instead, looking worriedly at Sonic. "Get somewhere inconspicious!" he hissed, before turning around and opening the door somewhat nervously, a flutter of wind behind him indicating that his blue rival had once again moved as fast as only he could.

"I hope you found your supper to your liking, my Pr-" the cat, who was the same servant they had already met yesterday evening, began, before suddenly halting in his speech, mouth moving without forming words. Then the grey-furred sapient suddenly coughed, looking at a point behind Shadow, and proceeded to stare at the floor, seemingly embarrassed.

"…oh. I see. My Prince, I am terribly sorry for disturbing you. I appeal to your mercy to not have me executed for my foolishness. In the future, I will only collect the supper when you call for me, not when you are…concerned with other activities."

Shadow frowned at this, not quite sure what the cat was getting at, before sneaking a glance over his shoulder. And understood. Lying on the bed, in much the same position as he had been this morning, was Sonic. The blue hedgehog had hurriedly slipped on the wristcuffs (and both of the dimension-travellers hoped Greytail hadn't seen that they weren't actually locked) and looked a bit flustered as he had to get there in such a rush. For a brief time, emerald eyes locked with crimson, and while Sonic still looked a bit embarrassed at his position, there was also a bit of smugness in his gaze that he had thought of something that hadn't occurred to Shadow.

"…I will let it pass this time," the Ultimate Lifetime said after he had finally managed to tear his gaze away from the blue form and was sure he had his voice under control again, "But I do not like being bothered. Try to keep your visits to a minimum."

"Yes, my Prince," the servant answered, before taking the plate, glass and cutlery onto his tablet. He eyed the bowl with surprise. "Has your slave not eaten all day, Prince Shadow?"

"No." The black hedgehog shook his head. "I am currenly denying him food to break him further."

On the bed, a well-fed Sonic tried in vain to let his full belly seem a bit more emaciated.

"For the next week, I wish for you to only bring water for him. Do you understand?"

"Yes," the grey cat nodded again, his expression approving. "Your father will be glad to hear that the Prince is applying the procedures so thoroughly. I will be leaving now." Greytail made to turn around, but then stopped. "Only…Lazar has been asking whether he forgot to inform you that your regular weekly lessons will resume now that your sickness has passed. When he arrived this morning, he could not find you. He has been asking whether you would approve of having them rescheduled for tomorrow morning."

Shadow blinked.

_Lessons? _

Behind him, there was a distinctive sniggering noise from Sonic. Shadow idly wondered whether he shouldn't put that riding crop to good use after the cat had departed.

Aloud, he managed: "Certainly. But I still do not feel well and require someone to carry my books. Come to my door ten minutes before the lesson begins and collect them."

_Because I wouldn't even find the damn study room without a guide._

"Yes, my Prince." The grey cat bowed one final time and left.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who finds more and more catches in his new role, huh?" Sonic, who had slipped out of the restraints and rolled onto his belly with his arms folded under his head, grinned, not even trying to hide his mischievious joy at Shadow being faced with the fate of having to return to school. "Make sure you bring Mr. Lazar a polished apple and maybe you won't get any homework." This was followed by a snort.

"You're _asking_ for a whipping."

"Ugh, not now. I'm too tired for exercise." Sonic stretched himself on the bed with closed eyes, defences down, obviously neither intimidated nor feeling threatened by Shadow. And while earlier that had mostly annoyed the black hedgehog, who wished he could just make the faker shut up, this time it was actually almost…nice…to see Sonic so relaxed in his presence.

Shadow went over and seated himself on the bed as well, sitting next to the prostrate blue form who already seemed to be somewhat half-dozing.

School. Well, at least the cat had said something about 'weekly' lessons, so he probably would have to face this only once every seven days, if they even stayed here that long. Still, the last time he had seen a classroom from the inside had been during his five years of childhood aboard the ARK – a curious young Shadow had accompanied Maria to her lessons with Professor Gerald once, and the professor, fond of Shadow almost like his own son, quickly had the idea to teach the hedgehog as well. The Ultimate Lifeform had received a solid education since he learned fast – yet he couldn't help but worry that the heavy emphasis on science that had been Gerald's trademark wouldn't help him much when it came to the curriculum of a world that had never gotten past the Middle Ages.

_Great,_ the black hedgehog thought sarcastically, _by midday tomorrow I'll probably be burning at the stake._

It seemed there would be not much sleep tonight, but instead reading in the textbooks on the writing desk.

"Can you sleep when I keep the candle burning? I intend to prepare for whatever lessons they might plan tonight."

"Hmm?" Sonic asked sleepily, apparently already sliding over into dreamy land while the sky outside the window was also darkening rapidly now. "Sure, whatever…I think I'll be going to sleep now," he said, drawing his legs up to prepare to slide under the covers.

Shadow frowned. "Can't you at least pull off your shoes? They're not exactly clean…"

Sonic looked aside. "Well, I would, but…it's like that, without my shoes I can't run very fast, lest my feet burn up from the friction heat. I don't like removing them when I'm practically in enemy territory, and every few hours some weirdo wants to lay into me with a whip."

"I could protect you." The words were out before Shadow could stop them, and now he stared into emerald eyes where Sonic's gaze had snapped up as soon as he uttered them. After a few minutes of silence, the blue hedgehog finally had to chuckle slightly.

"I appreciate the offer, Shads, but I think I can still protect myself. Unless of course," - and here his tone turned just a bit into a mock warning – "_someone_ inexplicably feels the urge to tie me to the freakin bed before I wake. But that's not gonna happen again, is it, Shadow?" He asked, only half-joking now.

Shadow shook his head. "…no."

Sonic still didn't trust him to keep them both safe. For reasons he couldn't explain to himself, this somehow hurt more than it should. Wordlessly, the black hedgehog stood and walked to the writing desk, sat down and started to read, leaving Sonic on the bed alone.

"Hey, Shads?" Came the question after a few moments of silence. The Ultimate Lifeform didn't look up.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say…I _really_ appreciate the offer," Sonic said, picking his words carefully, almost as if he had recognized the disappointment in Shadow's countenance, "But you gotta understand that I'm not really used to anyone thinking he has to protect _me_ of all people. Usually I protect _them_, y'know? Tails, and Amy, and Cream, everyone…Knux can handle himself in battle, of course, but then again, he might watch my back from time to time, but he still isn't really, like, _protecting_ me. More like offering me help for when I have helped him in return. And _only_ when it isn't jeopardizing his precious hunk-a-rock, of course."

Shadow could almost _hear_ Sonic rolling his eyes at that and finally looked up. He was surprised to find the blue hedgehog smiling at him, with a kindness he had thought only Maria could possibly ever feel for him. Had the blue hedgehog felt the need to comfort him?

"So, I guess I just wanted to say…thanks for the offer to look out for me. Even if I'm not sure I need it, it's…it's nice of you. Yeah." He finished, his emerald eyes as warm and sparkling that Shadow felt as if some knot in his chest had just come loose, while an entirely new one had just formed in his _other_ intestines.

He was almost glad that the blue hedgehog then turned his face away, rolling over in the bed.

"But I'm getting all mushy here, which isn't really my style, either. But anyway…good night, Shadow."

"Good Night…Sonic."

Shadow spent the next half an hour staring at the books but not taking anything in, just feeling curiously happy. And fuzzy, though he wouldn't tell that to anyone.

xxx

It was well past midnight when he finally snapped the last book shut. The content was mildly interesting – a lot of it was superstitious mumbo-jumbo, another big part consisted merely of propaganda, explaining why Black Doom's rule should be extended over the whole globe by natural right and why war was the solution to everything, but also there were passages about the history, the landscapes, and the legal practices of the realm he was supposedly Prince of, which Shadow thought would surely come in handy. Sadly, there wasn't much about Chaos Emeralds or other mentions of powerful gems, so the black hedgehog thought he would probably take a trip to the Palace library (if such a place existed) tomorrow.

But for now, it would be a few hours of sleep, Shadow mused. While the Ultimate Lifeform could suspend sleep just like he could forgo eating, trying to do both at once could become a bit trying over time. So it was with a sigh of relief that the black hedgehog sank down upon the cushions next to Sonic, who had kicked off the blanket already, as their second night here was warm.

xxx

Crimson eyes snapped wide awake. A sound. There had been a strange sound, a voice. Shadow blinked, but beheld only moonlit darkness, meaning it was still nighttime. It couldn't have been a servant calling that he was bringing the breakfast.

Then his ears swivelled round as it came again.

A whimper.

Confused, Shadow propped himself up on his elbows and tried to determine the source of the noise. It sounded almost familiar…or had he imagined it?

Another whimper came, more frightened this time, and it was accompanied by a movement next to him. Sonic was squirming and Shadow was as surprised as concerned as he understood that it was actually the blue hedgehog uttering these sounds so uncharacteristic of him.

"Faker?" he asked quietly, bending over him, trying to look into his eyes.

It was at that point that Sonic smacked him into the face.

And just as a livid Shadow was about to rip the other's throat out, keeping up pretenses or no, he noticed that the blue hero wasn't actually awake.

Sonic was still squirming, ears flat against his head, letting out the occasional soft cry or whimper and Shadow's rage immediately vanished. His rival was having a nightmare.

Watching the trembling blue form with an emotionless expression, the black hedgehog could only guess what the other was currently reliving. He knew from tales that Sonic had already been to many battles and undoubtedly these couldn't always have gone smoothly. He suddenly remembered a remark of Sonic's last night – the blue hero had said something about being captured by Robotnik, and stone floors being a hard bed…

Crimson eyes softened. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had memories that weren't the most comfortable cushion to sleep on.

Slowly, tentatively, he raised a hand and gently laid it on the hitching side of the other, rubbing the ribs underneath the blue fur in the hope it would help him calm down.

For a moment, Sonic seemed to freeze underneath his touch, then, as if by instinct, rolled against Shadow and tried to cuddle up against him, seeking the warmth and kindness.

The black hedgehog was startled at this – while Sonic never had a problem with physical contact, he wasn't one to actively seek it – and almost gasped, but then…he _liked_ it. Propped up on his elbow on the bed, stroking Sonic, it was calming…Shadow smiled, displaying for the first time an affection that he thought had died with Maria fifty years ago. Hands slowly travelled through soft, warm blue fur, exploring the line where azure turned fawn...

Then he frowned, as if becoming aware for the first time what he was actually doing. Petting _Sonic_? His _rival_?! Had he gone completely insane?

…_I'm just doing it because if his whimpering continued, I would be unable to sleep. Yes. _

_And the fact that I could accomplish the same thing by just kicking him out of the bed instead is irrelevant. _

…_I hate logic. _

Still, as Shadow continued to let his hand trail over the velvet blue fur, he couldn't help but recall that it was common knowledge that stroking pets was supposed to be healthy for persons with sparse physical contact, like himself. But Sonic wasn't a pet, even if he was wearing a collar…was he?

A slight unruly line in the blue pelt caught his attention, where the pelt just wouldn't lay itself smoothly. Intrigued despite himself, Shadow trailed along the line with his forefinger, travelling over Sonic's side to his belly. The blue hero's mouth suddenly twitched and he tried vainly to roll away from Shadow in his sleep, but the black hedgehog merely shifted his weight and pursued. He grew curious as he recognized ever more of these lines on other places of Sonic's body, crossing and criss-crossing over and over again.

And suddenly Shadow understood.

Scars.

He had been tracing the dozens of scars the years of battles had left on Sonic's body.

Sonic the Hedgehog was no pet, but a fighter.

Shadow almost smiled. Of course, It shouldn't have surprised him that much, really. It was no wonder that the blue hedgehog had reacted a bit confused at Shadow's wish to protect him. You could maybe leash Sonic, but the black hedgehog thought there was very little chance of his blue doppelganger ever becoming a true slave…_even if he isn't as self-reliant as he would like, that is, _the Ultimate Lifeform thought with a small smirk.

Shadow's hand had ceased its soothing motions while he pondered, however, and at that point, a still unconscious Sonic suddenly began whining again, looking frightened in his sleep.

Shadow sighed. By day, the blue whirlwind was all attitude and challenge, either boasting, ranting, or joking about, and only when he wasn't actively fighting, at that. He suddenly found himself wishing that maybe Sonic would also show himself from this more…vulnerable side also when he wasn't unaware of doing it. Right now, the sleeping hedgehog, lying on his back next to him looked so utterly defenceless Shadow wondered how this picture could ever become congruent with the one he had already formed of Sonic.

He reached out once more, this time touching the blue hedgehog just behind the twitching ears, scratching them a bit and the cramped form immediately relaxed again and proceeded to curl into Shadow's touch, almost purring in content.

The Ultimate Lifeform was astonished at the wave of pleasure flooding him at this. Why was he even bothering to comfort Sonic at all in this manner? What was _wrong_ with him? Why did he care?

He tried to recall their various adventures so far. When they first met, Shadow had insulted Sonic and then got him thrown him into jail. Then they had met in the jungle and tried to kill each other. Later, they had tried to kill each other in space. Of course, then they had fought the Biolizard together and Shadow had almost died…

_And then I lost my memory, got saved by the doctor, only to try to kill Sonic __again__, this time in Frog Forest for variety. Not exactly the basis to build a relationship on, _Shadow mused.

Yet when they had turned Super together back then it was as if they had shared a strange kinship, perfectly attuned to each other, like partners in a mutual dance of fire.

And all this time still, Sonic had never, ever harboured true spite or maliciousness against him…Shadow suddenly remembered the open smile the blue hedgehog had given him just before going to sleep.

Sonic was about the only one after Maria who had ever been completely friendly to him, with no reserves at all.

And now Shadow felt…oddly attached to him…felt like he wanted to hold him close, yet at the same time was almost nervous when he was around him, even if the Ultimate Lifeform was able to hide his feelings well.

And with Sonic finally sleeping soundly beside him, snuggled contently against his supposed owner, Shadow couldn't help but worriedly wonder whether he was about to get into something even more complicated than their entire little charade yet.

_To be continued..._

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Heh. Fluffy mood over here. :D Well, whaddaya think? ;) Please review!


	6. Dora the Explorer or Something

**Chapter 6: Dora the Explorer...no, wait. **

Sonic woke up and found he was hugging a cushion.

"Mmmh…huh?" he mumbled unintelligibly, releasing his feathery captive and trying to make sense of what he had been doing.

"Morning, Faker. Slept well?"

This time, remembering where he was didn't come nearly as much as a shock. Sonic blinked a few times until he beheld Shadow sitting at the writing desk a bit more clearly and already knew where he was again. Black Doom's castle, the familiar feel of the collar around his neck – and even if Sonic had gotten mildly used to it, it was _still_ annoying – and thankfully, his wrists pleasantly free of handcuffs. Sonic got up and stretched himself, relishing his permitted freedom.

"Uh-huh, I did. Actually I think I slept better than in a long time – when we get outta here, I wanna take this mattress with me," the blue hedgehog replied, grinning and twisting to warm himself up for the day.

"Is that so," Shadow said non-committally at that, even if he couldn't help but give a small smile. He _had_ managed to protect Sonic after all, even if only from a night of bad sleep. And it had felt pretty good.

"So, food already here?" the blue speedster asked, walking up to Shadow and peering over his shoulder at the book the other hedgehog was reading. "Geez, didn't you sleep at all last night?"

"A bit." Shadow shrugged. "No idea when breakfast's supposed to arrive, or Greytail comes to pick up my books for the lessons. This backward reality needs a clock."

"_And_ less collars," Sonic supplied, studying himself in the mirror again, frowning. Shadow stepped up to him.

"You're still having problems with it?"

"It's degrading," Sonic replied, forcing himself not to blush. Looking at the mirror, the pair of them really did look genuine – Sonic was collared and awkward because of it, his ears folded because he had bent them backwards in his sleep, while Shadow stood next to him, same in height but a lot more smug in demeanour, plus he had grasped the leash from the table again – the perfect picture of a Master and his slave. Sonic quickly turned away, saying the first thing he could think of for a topic change. "Do you think we could overthrow Black Doom?"

"What?!" Now Shadow looked startled. "When did you come up with _that_ idea?"

"Well…" Sonic, where he was leaning against the window sill, turned around. "Think about it. We both know he is a sadistic dictator, he can't possibly be good for the people who live here. You've _seen_ that torture chamber! We can't just let him go about his business, that guy needs to be stopped!" the blue hero pressed, gesturing urgently.

Shadow just looked at Sonic, unimpressed. "And how is that going to get us home?"

"That's not the point, Shads. Try doing something unselfish for once."

The disinterested gaze of the black hedgehog suddenly turned into a glare. The rational part of his brain told him that Sonic hadn't meant that remark quite as it had sounded to him, but another side of him was hurt. Hadn't he been trying to be thoughtful and considerate the entire time while they were here? He had given Sonic his proper name, had done everything he could think of so the blue hedgehog wouldn't be lashed, had even calmed him down while he was having a nightmare, all without even knowing why he was doing it?! Somehow, Shadow felt…betrayed. And hurt. He turned his back towards Sonic.

"Not everyone of us feels the constant need to play the hero, faker."

"_Play_ the hero?!" Now the blue speedster was raising his voice as well. "I dunno whether that's news for you, Shadow, but I _have_ stopped a few tyrants before. It's what I do."

"Then go ahead and do it."

Shadow's voice sounded so cold, Sonic could feel a shudder running down his spine. He cut himself short of adding another scathing remark, as he would have done usually when fighting over something with Shadow or Knuckles. Something was wrong here. Something was wrong with _Shadow_, to be exact.

Or at least, that was how it seemed to Sonic. It was weird. Only last week, the black hedgehog had been as distant and foreign to the blue speedster as a comet passing his orbit only once a century. Now suddenly, the black hedgehog didn't only show much more emotion on his face than Sonic would have thought possible for him, but he somehow even thought he was…_attuned_ to Shadow, could sense whenever he was troubled. Like now.

_What is this, he's my owner and I'm his sensitive pet?_, shot through Sonic's head, who was staring at the black hedgehog's spiky back quizzically, rage gone as quickly as only Sonic's temper could change.

He suddenly had the impulse of simply walking up to Shadow and hugging him.

That was very soon followed by the vision of him being tossed across the room.

The blue hedgehog shook his head rapidly, trying to dislodge this odd thought. Again, where had _that_ idea come from? Sonic wasn't averse to physical contact (even if Amy's tackles were pushing it), often ruffling Tails' fur on top of his head when he wanted to show his affection for his kid brother. When everyone went out to picnic, he had also sometimes consented to play with Cream, throwing her in the air or letting her decorate his back spines with flowers. (The latter one _only_ when Knuckles wasn't present.)

However, the idea of hugging _Shadow_, let alone comfort him in a perceived moment of distress, was simply ludicrous. Presently, it reminded Sonic too much of how a slave would maybe come crawling to his master after he had had a bad day. He was still pondering about this, when it was suddenly the black hedgehog himself who broke the silence.

"You don't even know whether they _want_ to be rescued."

"What?" Sonic looked at his supposed owner with surprise. "Who are you talking about?"

"The people here. The slaves." Shadow made a dismissive gesture with his hand, his voice calm again, as if he had also decided to forget that little episode. "You haven't seen them. Most of them don't seem to be very rebellious or disgruntled with their treatment. On the contrary, most of them were very tame and obliging. You shouldn't forget that a lot of people prefer security and a regulated existence over freedom, which often brings with it a lot more trouble than most are able to deal with."

"Shads, they have never even _seen_ freedom! They've never been able to choose!" Sonic was getting agitated again, but not in anger but in his wish to make the other understand. "We can't just let them suffer like this!"

"Hush," Shadow said suddenly, his ears, engineered by Gerald to be much more perceptive than the average hedgehog's, twitching. "Someone's coming."

Groaning, Sonic dropped down to the floor, coming to sit underneath the metal ring in the wall he was probably supposed to be tied to. Soon enough, the knocking sounded through their room.

"My Prince? I have come to carry your books to your lesson. I will also fetch your breakfast on the way," Greytail's voice came, and Sonic and Shadow exchanged a look.

"I'm going now," Shadow hissed quickly, "I'll try to find out some more about the Chaos Emeralds during the lessons. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

Sonic merely turned his head away, shrugging. When Greytail stepped inside the room, his hands were behind his back, looking to all the world as if he'd just been cuffed again. The black hedgehog and grey cat departed without another word, leaving Sonic alone.

xxx

Shadow felt strangely reluctant to leave Sonic behind. He was walking next to the servant, wondering what the blue hedgehog would do. It only now dawned on him that there had been no breakfast brought to the room today. Sonic would probably be either chewing on the carpet by midday, or…_run off like the disturbance on two legs he is,_ Shadow thought grimly.

xxx

Sonic stood up after the first few minutes had passed, flexing his hands again. He pressed an ear against the door, and, hearing nothing, stepped outside into the deserted corridor.

It was a curious feeling. He knew he was overstepping his boundaries as supposed slave, but that only added to his excitement, since he had longed to go exploring from the first second he's arrived here. It was strange to be alone without Shadow, though, as if a part of him was now missing…

_Sonic, you need to get rid of that collar. I'm pretty sure it's screwing with your mind._

Shadow had told him not to do anything stupid, but Sonic wouldn't be Sonic if he cared much about any warnings. Besides, there was no way he would be twiddling his thumbs all day when there was a Chaos Emerald to be found!

Grinning, Sonic set on his way. He was not quite sure what he would do when he came into contact with people, but figured he'd just wing it, like always. He would have to quiz someone where something like a random giant gem stone might go if found…

The blue hedgehog rounded a corner and his eye ridges rose as he beheld a lone figure in the next corridor. It was a yellow mongoose with purple hair, scrubbing the floor with a sponge, a mob and a bucket of water standing next to her. She was also collared, a neckband made from coarse, faded blue leather around her neck. The only thing she wore was a tattered, short grey dress, leaving her hands and feet bare. Her fur looked so rumpled that Sonic immediately felt a sting of pity.

"Hey there," he greeted, smiling at her. "Need a hand?"

The girl didn't even stop in her frantic scrubbing, only gazing up at him once, fleetingly and confused. But Sonic wasn't to be deterred. "Betcha together we'll have this floor cleaned up a lot sooner."

The important thing was to win her trust, but how he was supposed to do this when she wouldn't even _look_ at him, he had no idea. He knelt down next to her, trying to make eye contact again. "I'm Sonic. My master sent me to help you," the hedgehog added in a random burst of creativity, hoping that maybe his would mark him as 'safe' in her eyes.

At this, she finally gave him a brief nod but then immediately continued with her work. Not quite as much of a reaction as he'd hoped, but at least it was a start.

Sonic idly took up a second sponge from the bucket with water and started scrubbing at the floor a little, speculating on maybe getting her to talk a bit more.

"Um…you know, I'm kinda new here. Fancy telling me your name?"

He had almost added 'Maybe we can hang out together after work', but realized just in time that this might have sounded a little out of character for his current role.

Again, her green eyes flashed over to look at him for a second and Sonic was confused to see in them something resembling near panic. What was she so frightened of? He looked perfectly normal and usually making friends was easy for him.

"Hey, is there anything bothering you? Maybe I can-"

The blue hedgehog was cut off by a quiet gasp from her and saw her eyes briefly narrow at something past his figure. Then, the mongoose set to work at twice the speed she had been going at, scrubbing the floor as if her life depended on it. Sonic's gaze flashed down the corridor and saw that a guard was waltzing towards them, a rhinoceros holding a spear. Trying to be inconspicious, Sonic quickly started to clean the floor as well, sneaking sideways glances at the towering anthropomorph as he was drawing closer, every muscle underneath his blue fur tense. The rhino stopped before them and the hedgehog thought he could feel the sudden fear of the mongoose rolling off her like waves.

The guard drew a breath.

"Have you been talking?"

Next to Sonic, the girl shook he head frantically where she was cowering on all fours, and he quickly did the same.

_So __that's__ why she didn't talk. Maybe slaves aren't even allowed to speak to each other here. _

He could almost sense the bile rising in his throat at that thought, but kept quiet.

Above him, the slow, rumbling voice of the rhino came again.

"I _think_ I heard talking."

_Wow. Do you do that often? The whole thinking thing, I mean,_ Sonic nearly replied, but bit his tongue at the last moment. As good as he was at smart remarks, this was probably not the time.

The mongoose pointed a trembling finger at him, still not looking up. Sonic now became a bit worried. He had only been out of the room for ten minutes and he was already in trouble.

"So, _you've_ been talking, huh?" the guard now looked down at him where he knelt and the blue hedgehog had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. This guy had gotten most of his lines from a B-movie, and a bad one, at that.

Then, without warning, the rhinoceros struck.

Sonic gasped as the length of the spear impacted on his back and immediately curled up into a protective ball. Thankfully, his spines didn't have much feeling in them – only sharp or thin weapons, like the whip, could penetrate the jungle of spikes and hurt his sensitive skin underneath. The tremor went through his whole body as the wooden staff came down again and again, and finally snapped in half. Sonic uncurled tentatively, looking up at the guard, trying to look frightened enough so the guy would leave him alone. The rhino, however, was staring at his broken spear, confused. Then he scowled.

"Damn hedgehog slaves. When I see you again, I'll have my whip with me. Don't talk again, or I'll drag you to the executioner" he huffed, moving his hulk away from them. Sonic watched him leave, feeling a dull throbbing in his back where the staff had hit. It was bordering on pain, but not quite, so he could move normally enough as he dusted himself off. He was just glad that his sharp spines had sliced the spear in half, or the idiot guard would probably have just continued in his brutality.

Suddenly, Sonic imagined the girl getting hit instead of him, her back protected by nothing short of a thin dress and a bit of fur...

He swallowed. "Huh. No wonder you didn't want to talk with that guy around."

She was staring at him now in open amazement, but still the fear in her eyes was overwhelming pretty much everything else. "Hey." He tried to smile. "I'm okay. That guard needs to get a new spear before he can bother us again. Maybe wanna share your name now?"

Her answer surprised him.

"Please," she whispered, shrinking away, "What do you want?" the mongoose asked, looking at him as if he would start beating her at any moment.

Sonic frowned. "I _would_ like to know whether I can help you. And maybe find out about any random giant gem stones found two days ago in the dungeon," he added, joking at the last part.

"Then you must ask the cleaning slaves that worked there at that day. I didn't," she said, looking down and starting with her work again. Sonic noted that she looked very tired at that, her movements weak and without any energy. But it puzzled and scared him even more how she was behaving in general, as frightened as a rabbit forced to live on a platform above a fox kennel.

Sonic looked up and down the corridor. "Do you have to clean this entire floor?" he asked.

She nodded, and the blue hero stood up. "Then I'll help you." Quickly, he grabbed the mob and, after listening for a moment whether no footsteps were approaching, grinned. It had been a while since he got to show off his speed.

The cleaning of the entire corridor took perhaps three seconds. When Sonic stopped in front of her, she was still staring. "Here," he said, "now you should be able to rest for the day. You look like you need it."

Numbly, the mongoose nodded and Sonic sat down next to her again, wishing she would even look remotely cheered.

"So, uh," he started, "About the cleaning crew of the dungeon. Where can I find them right now?"

"Kitchen," she replied in a monotone, still looking down.

"Okay", said Sonic, "Thanks a lot. And you still won't tell me your name? Maybe we could be friends."

She shook her head, frantically. "No. Talking means punishment. Socializing means _death_."

Emerald eyes widened, Sonics' mind reeling.

_This is worse than the roboticizer. Cause when Black Doom turned them into robots, he did it without the metal._

"I…I need to go," he suddenly said, not able to look at her any longer and feeling sick, his own collar now feeling red-hot against his neck. "I'll -I'll be back, I promise…"

A blue blur rushed through the castle then, not stopping until he had found another empty corridor, several storeys, wings, and miles of running distance away. Collapsing against a cool stone wall, Sonic was just glad that he could run faster than the eye could see.

"Urgh. Whatever Shadow says, we _need_ to bust this place." A growling came from his stomach at that point, and the blue hedgehog realized he was also still hungry.

"…bust this place _after_ I had breakfast. Hey, kitchen!"

_To be continued..._

* * *

Whoot, another chappie up! This Emerald is proving to be quite elusive... :D And world-building is going on. I wonder who has it worse at the moment, Sonic or Shads? XD

If you read, please review!


	7. A Question Of Ownership

**Chapter 7: A Question of Ownership**

Shadow stared at the map Lazar was showing him, bored. So far, the lessons had yielded some interesting information about the location of the castle and the general geography of the place, but right now the lizard was talking incessantly about troop movements, as if they were in a war, or something.

"Ssso, yesterday, Aleena's army attacked _here_, my Prince-"

Well, yeah. Technically, they _were_ in a war, but Shadow _still _didn't find it very interesting.

"But of courssse, ssso far we have eassily outmatched their feeble numbersss. The only threat to your rule would be if the echidnasss and King Max' troopss attacked together, but that will not happen, ass we know." The purple reptile let out a slithering chuckle that sounded like someone had lost a wet cloth in a vacuum cleaner, but did not elaborate further.

"That is all very interesting, Lazar, but I am actually interested in something I read about — do you know anything about Chaos Emeralds?"

The lizard gave him a surprised stare. "That, my Prince, isss not the topic of the lessson. If we could return to the new tactic to sssquash thesse troublemakerss once and for all-"

Shadow groaned quietly, wondering whether killing your teacher would be within his privileges as Prince.

_I wish Sonic were here…  
…and that is an indication of just how desperate I am._

xxx

Sonic (or rather, his nose) had found the kitchens by now. A few servants with full trays had already run past him, paying no attention to anything but getting to their destination (although he had received a few odd looks) and it had taken all the self-discipline of the blue hedgehog not to jump them and simply snatch the food away.

He. Was. _Hungry_.

Sonic pushed the double doors open and was treated with the sight of cookery hell. There were hundreds of kettles boiling and the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, a thousand scents of meat, freshly baked bread and sweat mingling with smoke and steam. At the same time, there were workers everywhere, standing at pots and in front of ovens or simply squatting somewhere and peeling potatoes, cleaning, putting food away, taking out trash or performing myriads of other tasks. It was like a culinarily-inclined beehive.

Sonic stepped inside slowly, his eyes wide and trying to take everything in. Almost unconsciously he registered that most of the workers concerned with dirty or lower jobs were slaves like him, wearing uniform green collars that in some cases seemed to be bound tightly enough to be highly uncomfortable. Sonic again tugged at his own one uselessly, wishing it would come off.

Then another strange thing struck him: Most of the kitchen slaves seemed malnourished, and now that he thought of it, even the cleaning mongoose had been too thin to be healthy…

_Why don't they just eat from the food in front of them when nobody's looking? _Sonic wondered, for that was pretty much exactly what he intended to do. He wandered off into the part where the supplies were stored, occasionally trying to catch the eye of some of the collared sapients, but none of them ever looked up from their work. The blue hedgehog shivered.

"Hey, you! Get your superior some food, willya!"

Sonic froze. The _last _time he'd heard that voice he had been chained to a bed and been all but groped with eyes.

He turned around very slowly, and it was indeed Jet standing in the middle of the kitchen, but he had not been addressing the collared hero. Instead, the hawk apparently had just kicked a crouching slave lightly in the side, who now whimpered and scurried off to return with some sort of pastry that the bird devoured hungrily before plonking down onto a free chair.

"Good slave. Now go get me some wine, then you can return to your duties."

Emerald eyes, staring at the scene from behind a rack stacked with vegetables narrowed in anger. But at the same time, he couldn't confront Jet here and now because the hawk would surely recognize him…

Sonic's stomach loudly reminded him that he wasn't looking for a neon hawk but for grilled chicken.

The green bird didn't seem like he wanted to go anywhere soon, anyway, so the hedgehog would have to stay in the part of the kitchen that was behind the racks, where he wouldn't be seen…Sonic tipped a slave busy with carrying a bucket of water on the shoulder.

"Hey, uh, you couldn't get me some food that won't be missed? Please?"

The zebra only glanced briefly in his direction, before hurrying on, not answering. Sonic was confused. He knew by now that these slaves didn't talk if they could help it, but when Jet had told them to get him something, they had easily complied…what was he doing wrong? Sonic stood there in the kitchen, rubbing his ear while his fur was already starting to get so damp from the steam that he would have to _towel _it dry.

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

Checking that Jet still hadn't moved, the blue hedgehog darted further off into the kitchen maze until he found a rack of kitchen towels. Ears pricked forward in curiosity, gloved hands grabbed one and tied it around his neck…thereby concealing the collar.

Sonic cleared his throat and grabbed the shoulder of a somewhat bedraggled elderly mouse slave who was washing dishes.  
"Hi there. I want some food."

The female turned around, then squeaked and darted off with a speed that belied her age. She returned quickly with a small loaf of bread and a carrot, bowing hastily in front of Sonic, not daring to look at him again.

"…thanks." The blue hedgehog took the food cautiously, backing away again.

_So they won't even acknowledge another slave but obey everyone else instantly. Creepy. _

Sonic had already wolfed down half of the bread and the carrot while pondering his observations, before suddenly remembering why he was actually here.

"Cleaning slaves. Gotta find some, maybe they can tell me about any Chaos Emeralds…" he muttered, stalking past ceramic pots and feeling ever more alien in this world.

_I wish Shadow was here…he's almost like home_, the blue hedgehog thought despondently, absentmindedly trailing his finger over the collar underneath his make-shift neckerchief.

Green eyes lit up as they beheld the figure in front of them, though, for this sapient was obviously on cleaning duty. The skunk was mobbing the floor and the blue choker around his neck indicated that he, too, was owned by someone.

"Hey, you!" Sonic said lightly, not unfriendly, but also trying to sound like he was somebody used to ordering around people.

The mob instantly clattered to the floor and the skunk snapped to attention, rigid, but staring at his bare feet.

"Hey, it's okay," the blue hedgehog said, not wishing the other to be afraid, "I'm not gonna hurt you. All I want to know is whether you were cleaning the dungeon yesterday."

A nod. Still no eye-contact.

"…okay. Did your group find anything…unusal in there?"

This time, there was a confused, shy glance from the youth, brown eyes meeting questioning emerald. Then he hurriedly looked down again, as if he had just done something forbidden.

"Uhm…can you talk?" Sonic asked when no answer came, wondering whether the other was just afraid or if he had actually managed to find the single mute guy in the entire castle.

"Y-yes, I can." The answer was almost a whisper.

"Great! So, was anything found?" The collared hero had trouble hiding the urgency in his voice now.

"…yes. A white object. I don't know what it was."

"A white object?! Where did they take it?" Sonic exclaimed, grabbing the stumbling skunk on both bony shoulders. This was finally a lead!

"…it was taken to the King."

Gloved hands slumped down again.

_…fate, why do you hate me?_

xxx

"_Nu- Knuckles?!_"

"Yes?" The Guardian of Angel Island had just picked up the receiver in his small domicile a few miles from the Emerald shrine. Why Tails was calling him and sounding this panicked, he had no idea.

"Can you come down to my workshop? Please?!"

"Why, what's up? Did that blue maniac get himself into trouble again?" Knuckles asked, frowning.

"…I don't know!" Came the small fox' voice, slightly desperate. "It's…it's Sonic and Shadow, actually. They've gone completely _bonkers!_"

xxx

Still holding the skunk with one hand, Sonic frowned. He suddenly had the feeling that things had gotten so much worse, but wasn't sure why.

Sighing, he released the young sapient.  
"Uh, thanks. You can continue now," he said, stepping away. Now to head back to Shadow and break the news to him. But there was still Jet sitting in front of the entrance…Sonic noted with disgust that the hawk had now actually ordered a slave to kneel in front of him as a footstool.

Jet was hit in the head by a thrown stealth potato only a few seconds later, but when he furiously looked around for the culprit, Sonic had already vanished through another side door.

The blue hedgehog had located it earlier and now hoped it was another exit. As soon as he had stepped inside the new room, though, his breath was knocked out of him.

In here it was _hot_.

_Geez. Am I back with Shahra in the deserts of the Arabian Nights, or what? _Sonic thought, wincing as the burning air scalded his throat. He took off the makeshift neckkerchief to wipe his forehead and let the thing drop to the floor. It had fulfilled its use, anyway.

This room was smaller in area, but dominated by a huge oven, reaching all the way to the ceiling at least twenty feet above his head. And there was a…pumping noise…

"Hey, you!"

This time, it wasn't Sonic who had called. Instead, the situation was now reversed. Someone else was addressing him as a slave. The blue hedgehog spun round.

And then, emerald eyes grew as big as power rings.

"What's the matter, slave? Never seen an echidna before?" the red, dread-locked, as-familiar-as-the-two-spiked-scar-under-your-chin creature asked.

Sonic gauped.

_Hey, Knux. How's it hanging?_

_Hi, Knuckles. Never mind that collar, I'm early for Halloween this year and the rest of my dog costume hasn't yet arrived._

_…What the hell are you doing here and why are you wearing *shackles*?_

Of all three greetings that raced through Sonic's head at the moment, the third seemed to be the most appropriate.  
The echidna was indeed bound, all four of his limbs encased in huge steel bindings, but chained to the wall and the floor in such a way that they allowed him some movement. At the moment, he seemed to have been at work pushing up and down a huge bellow to keep the gigantic oven blazing and any doubt whether that was the Emerald-obsessed Guardian he knew or just a random echidna was instantly erased. Only Knuckles could have been strong enough to still move with all this lead weight tied to him, or move those bellows single-handedly at all. Disbelievingly, Sonic took a closer step towards him, still staring.

The red sapient, again clad in brown leather and boots instead of modern white fabric and sneakers, frowned.

"Hey. I asked you a question, slave. What are you doing here, anyway? Come to offer me your services?" he scoffed, before giving the bellow another heave, his sweat-drenched body straining.

Sonic finally found his speech again. "…no. Are you a prisoner?"

"No, I'm wearing these shackles because I find them so _pretty_," the echidna grunted, Sonic's lips almost twitching as he noticed that this version of Knuckles apparently had the same cynical wit. What came next, surprised him, however. "So what are you here, for, then? Spread your legs for somebody else. Because I wouldn't do you even if this whole slave business wasn't appalling me anyway. I prefer girls."

"_What_?!" For the second time since they had arrived in this dimension, Sonic blushed furiously, even more so when the violet eyes of the echidna were travelling over his body again. "What the hell was _that_, Knucklehead?!"

The red Sapient's gaze narrowed at the insult. "Careful. You're _lucky _I'm shackled."

"Say something like that again and my sneaker meets your face, shackled or not!" Sonic shouted, hands balled into fists where he had taken a step back. "Whatever made you even think I would…let you _do _something like that to me?" he asked, more than a little freaked out.

The echidna seemed seriously taken aback now, too. "Well, I thought it was obvious. You have a red collar — you're a pleasure slave. What else would you do?"

Blue eye ridges rose and tan lips parted slightly.

"…oh."

_Colour-coded. No wonder everyone was giving me strange looks in the kitchen._

His anger towards the echidna had dissipated. The guy apparenly couldn't have known better.  
"Well, maybe we got off to a bad start?" Sonic suggested therefore, and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

_Bad start alright. Déja Vu, anyone? Last time I met Knux for the first time, he thought I had crashed the Death Egg on his Island and was trying to conquer the planet._

"…maybe." The echidna conceded, eyeing Sonic now with a curious mixture of mistrust and interest.

"Okay, now that we've made it clear that I'm not here for…_that_…" the blue hedgehog said, stepping closer to the other and giving an awkward gesture with a hand, "…I think it's time for introductions. I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!" he said, grinning as always when he got to say his favourite five words.

The echidna nodded. "I'm Knuckles. Son of the current Guardian of Angel Island and Prince of the Echidnas. Although I should have thought everyone in the castle knew that," he added as a muttered afterthought, but Sonic didn't even hear that part.

"What the -?! Everyone gets to be a freakin Prince while I have to be a _slave_?! That's _so _not fair!"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow at the ranting blue hedgehog. "I'm not pretending to understand a word of what else you're saying, but you sure as hell are no slave."

Sonic stopped pulling at his ears long enough to turn around.  
"…huh?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "You speak when not spoken to. You look me in the eyes. Hell, you _think_. You're no slave," he repeated.  
Sonic gave a dry chuckle. "I wish." He pointed at his neck. "I don't like it very much, but I _am_ collared. Shads isn't gonna release me any time soon, either, so for all purposes around here I am a slave," he said, not wanting Knuckles to get behind their little act, before adding: "_Except _that one purpose. Don't get any ideas."

Knuckles shook his head. "You might pretend to be one, even if the reason eludes me. You wear that collar out of your own free will," he said, his lip curling in an emotion Sonic was sure was contempt from the proud echidna for his voluntary submission. "They _tried _to collar me, too. I taught them better. But I actually don't care what you do, I just still want to know why you're here."

Sonic thought for a moment. The truth would just make the other think he was a lunatic.

_Which Knuckles at home pretty much believes me to be, too, _shot through his head with an amused undertone.

Instead, though, he said: "I…got a little lost."

"Yeah, me too," the echidna replied, but his tone was bitter. "Got a little lost in my own freaking _country_ and was abducted to end up here, forced to fire the oven that boils the water for the entire castle."

"Sorry to hear that," Sonic said, not sure why Black Doom would feel the need to kidnap Knuckles of all people. "Can I help you bust outta here?"

The echidna shot him a surprised glance. "You would?"

Sonic shrugged. "Sure. It's kinda what I do. You mustn't tell on me, though."

Knuckles nodded, his gaze thoughtful, but he had apparently decided not to question his good luck. "I can smash through these chains, but I'd need a tool. See that hammer over there? I can't reach it, give it to me."

As soon as Sonic had done so, the metal links only held seconds under the brute force Knuckles could wield. The thick metal bands still around his wrists and ankles didn't seem to hinder the strong echidna one bit.

"Right. Thanks. I'll return to my people now, they could only subdue me because they caught me unawares…there is a door from the kitchen that leads outside into the courtyard and from there I can burrow under the castle walls."

The echidna was striding through the room as he said this and cautiously stepped outside into the kitchen. No slave was looking up from their work and Sonic stepped after him. Right before Knuckles could open the door that led to the outside, though, the blue hedgehog held him back.

"Um…your people wouldn't happen to have any Chaos Emeralds, would they?"

Violet eyes narrowed in suspicion again, but then the echidna just sighed. "You're asking for the secrets of my tribe, hedgehog. But since you freed me, I'll tell you. We don't have any Chaos Emeralds, only the Master. And that must never fall into your king's hands. I think he actually planned to demand it as a ransom for me."

Sonic nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, good luck on your journey home, then. Hope you make it," he said, although knowing Knuckles, he would have to worry more about any guards that might be stupid enough to stand in his way. Sonic idly hoped the rhino guard from earlier today actually _would _be stupid enough.

"…thank you," Knuckles replied, then opened the door to the outside, before pausing again.

"Why don't you come with me?"

"Huh?" This time, it was Sonic who was surprised.

"Leave this castle. You're not broken like that collar would indicate but actually kept your free will. My people can use fighters for that upcoming war and your aid in my escape would be highly rewarded."

Sonic glanced at Knuckles, then at the sky outside, bright and pale and blue and inviting…asking him to run free instead of being cooped up in this castle…

Then he smiled sadly and shook his head. "Would love to, but can't."

"Why not?" the echidna frowned, keeping his gaze on the blue hedgehog but already getting edgy and eager to leave the place of his imprisonment.

Sonic drew up his shoulders, palms held upward at his sides. "Well, it's like that…" he said, giving a lop-sided grin, "I can't leave my Master."

Knuckles only raised an eye ridge again. "Well. Free will you may have, hedgehog, but the collar you're wearing apparently made you a slave still."

And with that, he vanished into the outside, leaving behind a blue hedgehog that was as confused as possible.

_To be continued..._

xxx

* * *

Well. So far, so good. How to get the Emerald from Black Doom? And is this reality's Knuckles right in what he said...? What grade did Shadow get in Lazar's surprise pop quiz? All this and more in the next chappie...please review!


	8. Returns

**Chapter 8: Returns**

Sonic was walking slowly back through the castle corridors, wondering when exactly his life had become more complicated than running really fast and smashing TV boxes hiding in palmtrees.

_I can't leave my Master._

The words had been out before he had been able to stop himself. Why had he said them?

A gloved hand ran across his collar as he gave a nervous chuckle.

_I'm not __really__ starting to think of Shadow as my 'Master', am I? I am neither his pet nor a slave. _

Sonic rubbed his forehead in confusion as he strode along, not wanting to think about the whole issue. It was true he liked to be around Shadow. Yet he had always attributed that to the fact that the black hedgehog was a worthy rival - and by now wasn't trying to kill Sonic on sight anymore. Sure, he had even hoped that they could become at least maybe uneasy friends over time…

_But never my __owner,_the blue hero added mentally.

He then shook his head. This was just this crazy reality getting to him. Plus the fact that he _had _gotten to like Shadow a bit over the time they had spent here…

_He's got a sense of humour, he's smart, enjoys banter and he's actually considerate of others besides that dead Maria girl. He just…didn't show it to anyone else yet. Just to me._

For some reason, Sonic suddenly felt a little bit flattered.

_Well, maybe us ending up in this gig wasn't that bad,_ he mused, finally. _If we can make friends or something over the time, I'll even wear that friggin collar a little while longer. But I am __not__, I repeat, __not__ becoming a pet or any other freaky thing. _

It was at that point he turned a corner and was suddenly face to face with Lazar.

xxx

Shadow stood alone in his chambers, fists on his hips and frowning.

Sonic wasn't there.

He had just returned from his classes (which had lasted all freaking _day)_, Lazar leaving him after the first half in the tender care of one mean-spirited praying mantis woman that was intent on teaching Shadow proper table manners while all the time clicking her disgusting cleavers. The black hedgehog had developed a nervous twitch (and the wish to ram his dessert knife somewhere uncomfortable for her) after only ten minutes in her company.

And then, when he had been on his way back, every single guard had been running through the castle in some frantic search, jostling him in the process.

Well, okay. _One_ guard had jostled him. But jostling Shadow was generally a mistake you only made _once_. Still, the Ultimate Lifeform mused, even that particularly dense rhino would perhaps be able to walk again in a few days.

Yes, all he had been looking forward to was a couple of hours of peace and quiet.

Next, of course, the door crashed open with a WHAM! and his supposed slave came careening into the room, knocking (a very surprised) Shadow down.

"What the – _SONIC!" _

"No time, Shads. Where's the freaking leash?"

Sonic was already on his feet again, shuffling through the papers on the desk like a maniac and finally grabbing the piece of leather as if his life depended on it.

"Leash me, Shadow, hurry!" he urged, already busy tying the other end to the metal ring. The black hedgehog was taken aback, but complied automatically. Of all the words to say from the speedster, he had certainly never dared to hope he would hear _those. _While Sonic was finishing up the knot, Shadow had hooked the metal clasp in, meaning Sonic was now tied to the wall.

"Okay, so can you finally explain to me what the _hell-?" _Shadow began, but Sonic hushed him.

"Shh! Any minute now-"

There came a knocking that sounded like somebody would like to save himself the trouble and just destroy the entire door instead.

"My Prince! It issss urgent!"

Shadow groaned quietly. "Not _that_ nuisance again…"

Shooting a warning look at Sonic that said Shadow _knew_ the blue hedgehog was somehow behind this, the Ultimate Lifeform opened the door and Lazar stumbled inside.

"Your sssslave, my Prince! Your insssolent sslave, the blue hedgehog hasss essc-!"

"Has _what_, Lazar?" Shadow asked, taking an inconspicuous side-step into the direction where Sonic was meekly and with the air of somebody who had just suffered a beating sitting on the floor, not raising his head.

"He hass – he had – I mean he _has - _!" Lazar stammered and Shadow raised an eyebrow while his mind was busily solving a puzzle. It didn't have many pieces and the cover of its box showed very clearly a blue hedgehog who was very bad at stealth, very bad at obeying orders, but a lot better at speedy escapes.

"Yes?" Shadow enquired again, and Sonic sneaked a glance upwards, while Lazar was gazing from him, to the opened door, to Shadow, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish's who had been asked to explain the dynamics of a bycicle.

"I…he…in the corridor! I _sssaw_ him!" he shouted, by now sounding somewhat desperate.

Shadow idly hoped the he hadn't heard the suppressed snort from Sonic's direction at this. Instead, he laid an arm around Lazar's shoulders.

"I think you're a little stressed, Lazar. Perhaps a bit less work, hmm?"

"But…but…yess, my Prince," the lizard finally muttered in defeat, not daring to disagree with a royal. "The essscape of the other prisssoner…the war….yes. Stresss. Pleassse excusse the dissturbance."

The door closed behind him, the reptile still muttering and shooting glances at Sonic to the last moment, who had to resist the urge to give a smug grin. As soon as the the wood connected with the frame again, however, the blue hedgehog's amusement was abruptly cut short as he was yanked up by his leash and pressed against the wall by a seriously pissed-off Shadow.

"_Ow_! Hey!"

"I had a seriously bad day, Sonic. Now tell me why you are so intent on making it _worse_."

Sonic squirmed briefly in the other's chokehold, but it was useless. One hand was around his neck, not suffocating him but using just enough pressure to let him know it could do so at any minute. The other had grasped both of his wrists and was pinning them against the stone over his head, leaving him open and defenseless. Shadow was the stronger of the two and right now his face was inches away from Sonic, snarling.

"Shadow, I –" The collared hero hated the fact that the black hedgehog had the advantage in strength and could fixate him so easily. The only way for Sonic to escape would have been to kick Shadow, but Sonic's leg muscles were _strong,_ and while he was annoyed, he didn't want to cause the other actual pain.

Sonic suddenly was dimly aware of how their lower bodies were grinding together in the wrestle, Shadow's knee pushing between his thighs. The blue hedgehog jerked again, more forcefully this time, at once desperate to get away.

"Shadow, please, _let me go!_"

Gloved black hands abruptly released their hold at this, the dark hedgehog slowly taking a step back, staring. There were a few moments of silence while both Mobians were trying to process what just happened, all the while not taking their eyes off each other. Red-streaked arms sunk down to hang limply at the black hedgehog's sides again, emerald eyes slowly losing their shocked look as the blue hedgehog rubbed his collared neck where he had been manhandled.

"I'm…I guess I snapped," Shadow finally managed, swallowing. "I didn't mean to."

How had that happened? He had lost his self-control in front of Sonic…but had immediately let go at the pained plead. Both so uncharacteristic. Usually, he didn't attack because of a simple provocation, his temper a lot calmer. And _when_ he attacked, his victim was left either hurt or dead. This time, neither of those two principles had been fulfilled and it was just because of that blue hedgehog…

"You can say that again," muttered Sonic, but sounded more peeved than freaked-out or angry. "What the hell was that for?"

"I…I don't know, really." Shadow looked away, not wishing to look into those emerald eyes where he knew accusation would probably be waiting at such a lame excuse. "I just – these lessons lasted all day, were annoying as hell, I wasn't able to find out _anything_ about the Emerald, I developed a serious issue against female insects, and just when I think this waste of a day is finally over, you storm in, knock me down and bring that idiot Lazar in your wake, endangering our entire act even though I told you _this morning_ not to do anything stupid. I just…snapped," he finished, wondering whether he had ever said so many words in a row since the day Maria died. But it felt curiously good to be able to talk to someone.

"And you felt it just so convenient to go snap on _me,_" Sonic replied, his arms crossed and expression unreadable.

"Look, I _said_ I didn't mean to!" Shadow lashed out at this again, and immediately felt bad for it afterwards. Sonic was surprised to see sharp-edged ruby soften ever so slightly when Shadow then added:

"…did I hurt you?"

"Me? No. But if you ever try something like that again, I'll plant my sneaker in your midriff so hard, you'll have to wear a shirt to hide the imprint," Sonic said, and surprised red eyes shot up to see that the blue hedgehog was actually grinning and not bearing ill-will against Shadow like he'd thought he would.

Sonic had actually been a bit shaken by that display of violence, but was now already back to his usual attitude. He had been to a lot of battles, so it wasn't nearly as shocking to him as it might have been. Plus, the fact that Shadow had let him go when Sonic had screamed showed that the black hedgehog hadn't truly been out to hurt him. No, the thing that had startled the blue hedgehog far more was the feeling as if his entire body had suddenly been on fire when their hips had touched…so, now the blue hero was trying very hard to hide any confusion from showing up on his face and his trademark grin and quips were actually an excellent way to do that.

Shadow shook his head. "Better not while we're here," he said, feeling a lot better and actually a bit grateful that Sonic was somebody not shocked that easily. The black hedgehog took a step forward, extending a hand somewhat awkwardly. "You probably want off that leash again, just hold still…"

The blue hedgehog held up a hand. "Uhm, no. Sorry, but right now it's not-touching-Sonic time. I might take you up on that offer later, though."

"I see," Shadow said quietly, turning away. Again, the blue hedgehog's refusal to let Shadow help hurt more than it should, and what was worse, this time it was him who had been the reason for Sonic's distance.

"And besides, I think right now you would rather listen to my new info on the Emerald anyway," Sonic said, and Shadow whipped around.

"What? You found something?"

"Yup. It's with Black Doom, though. Maybe we can sneak into his chamber tonight?" the blue hedgehog suggested, from where he had lowered himself onto the mat underneath the ring he was tied to. It was probably the bed he was supposed to be sleeping on, too, but right now the ostensible slave was merely sitting on it, hands laced behind his head leaning against the wall, legs angled and spread, feet on the floor. Judging from his relaxed attitude, the leash didn't seem to bother him much.

"We'll have to," Shadow nodded. "I just hope he sleeps at night and has it stored somewhere where we can find it. Where did you get that information?"

Sonic shrugged. "Sneaked into the kitchen, talked to the…slaves," he said, adding an awkward pause as he couldn't quite bring himself to say "the _other_ slaves" in front of Shadow. Looking away, he quickly resumed: "Or tried to, anyway."

His mind seemed to shift gear then, for his tone suddenly changed and he was once more staring at Shadow intently.

"Which reminds me again: Shads, we _have_ to overthrow Black Doom!" Sonic had risen again, stepping forward as far as the leash would allow, both hands clenched tightly. "It was like a nightmare – he and his servants have completely destroyed the minds of everyone they enslaved, it's like they were freaking robots! It was beyond screwed down there…Shadow, we gotta help them. Please."

Their gazes met at the last word. Once again, hearing Sonic plead for something was completely alien to Shadow, but the black hedgehog found that it for some reason tugged at something inside him more than any yelling ever would be able to. He closed his eyes.

"We'll see what we can do. Okay? And besides, some others are already trying to free them, anyway."

Sonic's ears perked up at that, surprised. "Oh yeah? Like how? And who?"

Shadow paced up and down the room. "From what I learned in the lessons, this country is at war, constantly. Other realms who are opposing slavery are trying to abolish Black Doom, freeing the slaves. However, so far attempts have been unsuccessful, for the others are too weak and apparently not collaborating. Right now, it's just the neighbour kingdom of Queen Aleena fighting and their troops don't stand a chance alone. There's two more neighbours of this country, though…but the leader of the first one, King Max, believes the slaves to be creatures incapable of free will anyway and therefore isn't sure whether overthrowing Black Doom would be a a good idea and actually worth it, if they're beyond help. The third realm that would be needed to win this war has their Prince kidnapped by Black Doom and held as hostage in this castle, so they can't join the fight, either." Shadow frowned. "But I actually think this Prince escaped today, hence why the entire castle is in uproar."

Sonic was suddenly very interested in his fingers. "This kingdom with the abducted Prince…it wouldn't happen to be the echidna tribe, would it?" he asked in what he hoped would be an innocent tone.

Shadow gave him a small, disbelieving stare. "You didn't…"

"Hey, it was this reality's version of Knux. What _else_ should I have done?"

The black hedgehog sank down upon the bed, covering his eyes with one hand.

"I tell him to be inconspicuous. He goes and frees the single most important prisoner in the entire castle."

"Yes, but nobody saw me do it!"

Crimson eyes narrowed. "Then what about Lazar?"

"Oh. Yeah. But he only saw me later, and then he made a mistake."

"What mistake?"

Sonic grinned. "He blinked."

"I see," Shadow said dryly, knowing that this would have given Sonic ample time to vanish around the next corner. In fact, the only one able to keep Sonic in sight when the azure whirlwind accelerated his movements to the Mach-speeds he was capable of was Shadow, his eyes trained to take things in at the supersonic speeds he also could achieve. So at least for the moment their act was safe.

"But it was a _good_ thing I did it, right? Maybe now they can win that war!" the blue hedgehog asked again, once more seated on the floor and looking up at Shadow.

"Yes, they might. But as Prince, I would prefer not to be here anymore when the pitchforked mob storms the castle."

"Well, that just depends on how our little trip into Black Doom's office tonight goes, right?" Sonic asked and one emerald eye briefly closed, winking at Shadow. And tan lips smiled faintly back.

xxx

The next hour was spent in companionable silence. Shadow was going through the drawers trying to locate a map of the castle to find out where Black Doom's quarters lay, while Sonic had untied himself from the ring. Since he was still unable to open the hatch of the leash on his collar, he had merely slung the leather item multiple times around his own neck until the end no longer dragged on the floor, but hung loosely from his back down to waist height. It looked like a scarf from the bondage shop, but Sonic actually didn't care that much at the moment. He just didn't trust his body around the black hedgehog right now, so he thought he would probably wait until their little midnight trip before asking Shadow to take it off. Instead, the blue hedgehog was busy pacing the room in as wide circles as possible, or alternatively stopped every few rounds to stare out the window, which showed the area behind the castle, the moat and then a wide, barren plain, with only a few black mountains in the distance. The sky was darkening rapidly now, making it difficult to recognize any landmarks, even if there had been any forests or rivers instead of the dead landscape.

In front of the castle was the courtyard and the castle town, of course, which they had glimpsed briefly from another window on their tour to the dungeons, but the view from their current dorm offered absolutely nothing to distract the collared hero, which made itself rather noticeable.

Shadow slammed the last drawer shut with rather more force than necessary, his right hand slapping the wood.

"Nothing! Not an entire map in this whole goddamn room! Aboard the ARK, there were maps _everywhere_, because everyone besides Professor Gerald tended to get lost! Why aren't there any _maps _here?"

It was safe to say that _both_ hedgehogs' nerves were a bit frayed.

Shadow ran a hand across his face to calm himself down, which worked fairly well. Then he saw that by now Sonic had run a circular hole in the carpet.

A black hand grabbed the 70-mph-pacer at the shoulder and brought him to an instant stop.

"What the hell is your problem, Faker?" Shadow asked, his tone a dead-pan, but still indicating that the little pinning-against-the-wall situation could return at any moment. His grip relaxed when the blue speedster turned his gaze towards him and emerald looked at him so miserable as if Sonic was in actual pain.

"I need to _run_, Shads…"

Shadow sighed. "Sonic…" He didn't know how to continue. Part of him wanted to berate the blue hedgehog there and then for his stupidity to ruin the carpet, but somehow, seeing how unhappy the other already was, Shadow just didn't have the heart to do it.

"I've been cooped up here for two days already, Shadow. It's hard…" Sonic said, looking away, but not shrinking from the black hedgehog's touch anymore. Crimson eyes studied the drooping quills and shoulders, contemplating as he still held his supposed slave by the shoulder. Shadow enjoyed exercise now and then as well, but contrary to Sonic, he had grown up in an entirely enclosed space, so the yearning for free plains to run on was not as deeply ingrained in him…the black hedgehog briefly thought that this would probably even be the worst form of torture if he was actually considering to break the blue hedgehog for real. Not pain. Not humiliation of whichever nature. Take away his speed from him forever, deny him the use of his legs, let him be a beautiful creature in a cage, unable to achieve that which defines him, only to live for his Master's pleasure…

_It's a bloody wonder he even let me leash him in the first place_, shot through Shadow's head. _Maybe he's giving more up for this act than I gave him credit for. _

"Say what, faker. When we have found this Emerald, I'll give you that race. For free."

A small smile. Then:

"…you mean it? Because I'll completely cream you."

The Ultimate Lifeform's trademark smirk returned at this, the atmosphere suddenly a lot lighter, as if both hedgehogs just had been able to release quite a bit of tension.

Shadow nodded then, leading Sonic back to the ring and tying him there anew, the blue hedgehog following docilely as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Still think you can beat me, then, Sonic? I think it'll be _you_ who will swallow my dust…"

"In your dreams, Shads. Can I ask you why you're tying me to that ring again, by the way?" Sonic asked, pointing at the knot and raising an eye ridge curiously.

"Simple. I'll go looking for a map outside. You will stay here and look genuine," the black hedgehog replied, turning to leave.

"You're not seriously thinking that this knot would pose a problem to me, are you?"

"No. I'm thinking you'll be a good little pet and for once do as I say." A flash of smug crimson, and Shadow was gone, leaving a slightly peeved Sonic behind.

"What the hell? Just _who_ does he think he is!" the blue hedgehog shouted as soon as the slight surprise had worn off, while his slender back slumped against the wall in annoyance, arms crossed in front of his chest and actually a small pout in his face.

"And don't _you_ think you could hold me, either," he added in a grumble towards his leash dangling from his neck to the ring in the wall, giving the thing a look as if it was personally responsible for his current situation.

_I could just run. Yeah. Run, feel the wind on that plain, shatter the sound barrier so hard everyone here is deaf for __weeks__, show them what true speed really is…_and maybe he'd even be able to slip back into the castle undetected. It was risky, but 'Risk' (not to mention 'Devil-may-care'…) were Sonic's middle names.

But there was something holding him back, and it was not just the worry about not finding Shadow again because, after all, he would return to the black hedgehog later anyway, wouldn't he? No, it was something different that made him feel uneasy at the thought of just running off…

It suddenly dawned on Sonic that he was unwilling to disobey Shadow's wishes.

…_what the hell?_ he thought again. _Since when do I care exactly what __anyone__ (besides Tails) thinks, let alone __him?_

He was not becoming…submissive, was he? No. Never. But…

Again, this train of thought hit a proverbial hold-up as someone knocked.

"My Prince? I'm bringing your dinner today. May I come in?"

A thousand answers to that question shot through Sonic's head, none of them repeatable in polite society.

Outside, Jet the Hawk wondered why nobody was replying.

"My Prince? If you're not inside, I'm instructed to leave your dinner on your writing desk. I'm coming in now!" the bird announced, shattering Sonic's hopes that if he played dead, the feathery annoyance would maybe go away. He braced himself as the door opened and Jet stepped into the Prince's dormitory.

"Huh, what the hell happened to that carpet, he must have – oooh, look who's here again…"

Sonic groaned very quietly.

_Why me? Why him?_

The green hawk carefully placed the tablet on the desk, then ambled slowly over to Sonic, grinning slyly all the way.

"Not chained to the bed today, I see. A pity, your body looked rather decorative stretched out like that…"

Emerald eyes started to blaze at this, the leashed hero oscillating between humiliation and anger. He was seriously tempted to do something to Jet he'd regret later, but still forced himself to remain still. The neon bird of prey took that opportunity to sidle closer, stepping around Sonic, seemingly inspecting him from all sides.

"Not so brazen and daring to talk today, I see…" the feathered sapient sneered, surprising Sonic as suddenly a hand reached over his shoulder and touched his stomach and chest, "I wonder whether it was the starvation that taught you manners or your lesson in the dungeon yesterday…"

The blue hero abruptly took a step sideways, freeing himself from the ticklish grasp, mentally cursing the leash, but not feeling as vulnerable as he had been on the bed. He had his hands free. If Jet tried any funny business with the crop today, he would see just how fast 'lightning-quick reflexes' really were.

"Get lost. You're just a servant around here, so you've delivered the dinner and that's it!"

Blue eyes narrowed, their hue now that of a sky just before the storm would be unleashed.

"That's right, slave. A servant. And that also means that slaves obey me. So, if I tell you to lay down for me, you will. And now, until your owner returns, I want you to submit..."

"The hell I will!"

The hawk merely raised his eye ridges, unimpressed but interested, just stepping closer again. "Well. Maybe I've overestimated the progress on you after all. But I do know that the Prince usually breaks them all, sooner or later. And if he doesn't, then Lazar will." Some reaction to the name of the repulsive lizard must have shown on Sonic's face at that, because Jet's beak only smirked broader. "Ah, yes, you know Lazar, then. A true bastard, isn't he? I must know…I work for him." The hawk gave a faint laugh at this, his eyes still ravaging every movement of the blue body in front of him and unnerving Sonic to no end. "Yes, and I know his methods very well indeed…"

The blue hedgehog had reached the end of his leash and could step back no further, which Jet used to bring their faces inches apart. "So tell me, pleasure slave of the Prince…" he whispered into a twitching blue ear, "…how did the _ginger_ feel?"

_"May I ask what you are doing with my bed slave?"_

It was a very good thing that Shadow returned at this moment, because otherwise there would not only have been a holey carpet to explain but also the corpse of a servant and quite a lot of blood.

As it was, Shadow's tone alone would have been able to stop global warming at the moment.

"Oh! My Prince! So sorry, I was only checking up on the general state of his health! He's in very fine shape, he is!" Jet gabbled frantically, bobbing his head like a pigeon while trying to inch past Shadow towards the door. "I will be going now, I will collect the supper later, I meant no disrespect!" the bird called, almost running as he vanished completely, the door slamming behind him.

Shadow looked from a fuming and flustered Sonic to the green feathers still fluttering to the ground and back.

"…what the hell was that?"

"Jet the Hawk," Sonic spat, "And at the moment I have a serious wish to take my Extreme Gear and break it on his _head_."

Crimson eyes remained expressionless, but at the same time, Shadow wondered just how long it would take for the blue hedgehog to reduce the next individual of this particular universe to very fine sawdust.

_To be continued...

* * *

_

Heh! Sorry for the slow updates, but instead I made this chappie extra long. How's that? :D Hope you like, thanks for all those nice comments...please review and tell me what you think? :)


	9. Only On Paper?

**Chapter 9: Only on Paper?**

"Right. You ready?"

Sonic merely nodded, before Shadow opened the door further and two spiky silhouettes slipped out into the corridor noiselessly, the time late after midnight. Neither the soft soles of Sonic's sneakers nor the faintly glowing jets embedded into the skates of Shadow made any discernible sound as the two shadows vanished into the darkness, both moving with a stealth that belied their boisterous attacks in battle, neither of them a stranger to missions that included sneaking into a base undetected.

Triangular ears twitched as the shapes darted from corner to corner, picking up even the faintest tread of guards from corridors away, keeping out of their way instinctively. Both sleek forms moved in perfect harmony and synchronization, a look and a nod all that was necessary for ascertaining when to run and when to hide.

Sonic thought it almost funny.

_As if Shads and I had already been with each other for years,_ he thought. _Odd, but maybe it's just because we're both supersonic hedgehogs – I'm not the only one of my kind anymore…_

Which was kind of a nice thought. Sonic even dwelled on it, a faint smile playing on his lips right until they stopped in front of a door.

"Here?"

Shadow nodded, before quietly opening it, peeking inside. "Yes," he whispered. "These are the chambers of Black Doom, where he lives when he isn't sitting in the throne room for official business. A cleaning slave girl showed them to me."

"A cleaning slave? Was she a mongoose?"

"Is that important in any way? She was just a slave," Shadow whispered, growing slightly irritated again.

"Shads! She was an individual just like you and me! You could at least have been polite and asked for her name or something!" Sonic hissed behind him, carefully stepping into the large, office-like room, cupboards and shelves full with documents and papers everywhere, dominated in the middle by a huge writing desk covered by a map.

"Sonic, do we have to go through this _again_? Be glad you haven't ended up as a real slave and give this topic a rest."

"…we're not finished about this," the blue hedgehog replied slightly surly, before asking, "So, where does this door lead? His bedroom?" A curious, white-gloved hand already opening the entrance in question.

"Sonic! What if-?" Shadow hissed, alarmed, but it was an unnecessary worry. There was indeed a second room with a (literally) king-sized bed inside, but it, too, was empty.

"Huh. Where is he?" Sonic wondered. "Shouldn't he be sleeping by now? We stayed up way past any sane person's bedtime…" this was accentuated by a yawn.

"And you think 'sane person' would be a fitting description for Black Doom?" Shadow chuckled at this, daring to raise his voice a little as they were seemingly alone. "Let's start searching for the Emerald. If it's anywhere in the castle, it has to be here."

Sonic nodded, and both hedgehogs repeated yesterday's process. Wilted papers were sifted through, old, crested chests opened and gruesome paintings carefully lifted from the wall to see whether there were any concealed holes to maybe hide any magic gems of insane power.

After two hours of concentrated searching, Shadow suddenly noticed that Sonic had stopped working. The collared blue hedgehog stood at the table, seemingly reading the papers in his hand in the faint moonlight from the window. Shadow stepped up to him, frowning.

"What is it? Have you found something?"

Peach lips moved a bit before any sound came out.

"…yes. The ownership papers for me."

"What? Let me see." A black-furred arm reached over Sonic's shoulder and grasped the edge of the documents he wasn't currently holding. Sonic felt a bit unwilling and also slightly embarrassed as both of them read the information contained on the pages. It was an uncomfortable feeling and the blue hero constantly had to remind himself that it wasn't really _him_ this was about, because nobody could ever have gathered this data since he arrived in this dimension, but still…if it hadn't sounded so utterly ridiculous, Sonic would have said he felt almost violated.

Emerald and crimson eyes traveled over the page…

Document of Ownership

Item: Pleasure Slave (1)

Sex: Male

Species: Hedgehog

Fur Colour: Royal Blue/ Peach

Height: 3.28 feet

Weight: 74 Ilbs

Age: (presumed) 17 years

Zone of Origin: Christmas Island

Last Sold For: 765 Gold Rings

Identificational Marks: Six large quills on head/ two medium sized quills on back/ Iris Colour Green/ Slightly arching blue tail/ Thin, aerodynamic body shape/ Very long nose

Training History: 

Age at Time of Capture: 15 years (presumed)

Broken: Partly

Training as pleasure slave: Completed half-way

Dry Penetration: Yes

Genuine Penetration: No

Slave is: virginal

Additional Information for Owner:

Slave is yet to be broken completely, yet shows obedience towards certain individuals. Needs to be supervised as strong flight impulse persists. Dry penetration only possible when fixated completely, due to-

"I think that's _enough_ about me," Sonic said, snatching the papers out of the black hedgehog's hand and pressing them to his chest, a light flush on his cheeks. Shadow wordlessly stepped back from him, facing Sonic with an expressionless gaze as the blue hedgehog slowly turned around, not quite looking his supposed owner in the eye.

"Was that information correct?"

"What? How the hell should _I_ know, I never was…never was…" Sonic struggled with the next word, but Shadow cut him off.

"Not _that._ I meant the other data, your weight and height and similar."

"Well…yeah. Pretty much, anyway. I think I'm about three pounds heavier or so…"

The words hung in the air a bit, fluttering there awkwardly like butterflies with crippled wings as unvoiced questions and realizations made the air heavier by the minute.

"…so there really was a hedgehog just like me here whose place I've taken," Sonic finally managed, his throat dry. Of course, it shouldn't have surprised him, really. He had met Knuckles, Jet, Espio and Black Doom, and even that mongoose reminded him curiously of a singer starlet back at home now that he thought about it…it was only natural that this dimension had a Sonic the Hedgehog as well.

But without seeing him, a doppelgänger of yourself just seemed so – unreal! Sonic studied the papers once again, the heat in his face only intensifying as he read some more information about the nameless blue hedgehog slave and what they had already examined and done to him…he shuddered.

"…faker? You okay?" The voice of Shadow raised him from the dark images the theatre of his mind was busily displaying and Sonic looked up.

"…uhh, yeah. Yeah. I just - Shadow, if I ripped these things into pieces, would this reality's version of me be free?" he asked, emerald eyes searching the black hedgehog's face intently. Shadow sighed. "No. I'm sorry, but according to the laws of this world the only way for a slave to be freed is death. They…are not people to them, you see? And someone who isn't a person can't claim the status of citizen, according to what I read. If you ripped these papers up, you would merely be claimed again by someone else."

"Oh." The collared hero looked down again at the papers, his expression varying between a scowl and a grimace. "There is so much here…Shadow, what do you think this other version of me is like? What do you think this other version of _you_ is like?"

The black hedgehog honestly couldn't answer. He had tried imagining Sonic like the other slaves, someone begging, submitting and whimpering, but it just didn't work. On the other hand, he could see himself striding along as Prince, punishing and not caring just all too easily - if Maria hadn't been, Shadow knew he would have grown up to be a cold-blooded killer, something which he knew he still could become…but looking at Sonic, who was still reading the documents and biting his lip, ears twitching and eyes changing between pity, embarrassment and slowly smoldering anger, he was more than glad that he wasn't. That he was still himself. That he could still…connect with Sonic. See in him something more than an object. Feel something when their eyes locked. That he could _care._

_I think I would like to meet this counterpart of mine. I wonder just how different he is…_

"Shadow?"

"Yes?"

"Where do you think _this_ reality's Sonic and Shadow have actually gone?"

Both hedgehogs exchanged a look as the exact same thought went through their head.

"They're not here."

"No. Obviously."

"We are."

"Yes."

"So that means…" Sonic said, slowly raising himself from where he had been sitting on the desk.

xxx

"So what is your problem, exactly?" Knuckles asked, frowning as he arrived at the Mystic Ruins, meeting a very frantic Tails at the spot where he had landed.

"My big brother has been brainwashed, _that_ is my problem!" the small fox all but wailed, pointing at his workshop/house. "Knuckles, you need to stop Shadow from, from…doing _stuff_ to him!"

xxx

"…that _means_ we need to find that Emerald really, really fast." Shadow finished the sentence for Sonic. "I don't want to imagine what would happen if there really is another version of me running around in our dimension."

"Yeah," Sonic stated glumly. "I have a feeling that either GUN or the lunatic asylum will be on our case when we return. Or possibly both."

"Probably," Shadow agreed. "These two are from a medieval world, I do not wish imagine what chaos they might cause."

"Yeah…" the blue hero nodded, trailing off. Both stared into the twilight for a few moments. Then:

"Shads?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think this other Shadow treated his Sonic well?" Sonic asked quietly, not quite looking at his supposed Master.

_'His Sonic'._

How odd.

Shadow stared at the collared hero for a while, silence his only response. He shook his head. "I really don't know. We can only hope and try to return as quickly as possible."

"_And_ free the slaves beforehand," Sonic quickly interjected, his tone light as usual again, indicating that their strange conversation was now at an end.

"You won't let go of that one, will you?" Shadow asked, eye ridges raised half-way.

"No. Now less than ever. I mean…" Sonic glanced at the papers in his hands again that stated that he had been sold, bought and was now owned by Shadow, despite his insistence on his personal freedom. "…this isn't _right,_ Shadow. You know it isn't."

Shadow stared at the blue hedgehog again. And saw in front of his mind's eye suddenly some _other_ papers, documents he had long since forgotten…documents that detailed the ownership of a certain Project: "Shadow" of Professor Gerald very clearly. With GUN's stamp at the bottom.

Black lids covered crimson eyes. "…you've won. _If_ there is a chance along the way, we will do something. Okay?"

"Yes!" A white-gloved hand punched the air, the royal blue lithe body stretching in joy as Sonic gave a triumphant exclamation. "I knew you'd see it my way, Shads!"

Shadow couldn't help but smile faintly at the sight.

_If I owned you, Sonic, I wouldn't give you reason to be unhappy, ever._

Aloud, he said: "You should be quieter. We're here as intruders, after all."

"Yeah, yeah,." Sonic waved him off. "You know, if you weren't so stiff-upperlippy all the time, I'd hug you right now."

The black one merely gave a faint snort at this, before the two hedgehogs continued with their task, the Emerald not quite forgotten. But it was with empty hands that the pair saw the morning dawning on them and there still hadn't been a single trace.

"Damn," muttered Shadow. "We'll have to leave before anyone comes into the room to deliver breakfast. Seems like I have no other choice but to ask Black Doom directly, wherever that lunatic may be."

"Hmm…" Sonic mumbled, only vaguely agreeing, already pretty much asleep on his feet.

"Come on. Let's go."

"Yeah…" The blue hedgehog trotted over, but then a last look towards the ownership papers of him they were leaving behind, seemed to trigger another thought in him.

"You know what's really odd?"

"I have a feeling you'd tell me whether I cared or not," Shadow said, as they were already in the corridor again, heading towards their dorm.

"In the additional info about me on the papers. They suggested using me as a delivery slave when fully broken, because I was able to go at 70 mph top speed."

"So?" Shadow asked, not quite sure whether another tirade about slave abuse was to follow or why Sonic was recounting these details now.

"Well, that's really slow. I can go at over Mach 2 without even breaking a sweat. Why do you think this reality's Sonic is not as fast as me? Not even supersonic?"

Shadow paused for a minute. Then:

"…no shoes. His feet would burn up from the friction heat."

The black hedgehog briefly gazed over to see emerald eyes harden at this.

"I see," Sonic said, swallowing, probably imagining a life without speed and again pitying this other version of himself. "But…70 mph is still pretty fast for everything else. He could have outrun his captors still. Why…why do you think he hasn't yet fled?" Sonic asked, stepping into the Prince's chambers and sitting down on the bed heavily, tiredness radiating from him.

Shadow didn't look at the collared hero when he answered and his voice was quiet.

"Maybe because this Sonic liked his Master."

Surprised emerald looked up at this, but the black hedgehog had already turned around, now stuffing the ruined carpet underneath the chest of drawers.

_But…but I do like you…Shadow…_Sonic would have almost replied, if it hadn't sounded so…odd. He tried to find some more appropriate words, but by then, sleep had already claimed him, and when Shadow turned around again, all he could do was just to drape the blanket over the body of his supposed slave, self-declared rival, beautiful pet…and unadmitted lover and friend.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Thanks for all your reviews so far, especially the anonymous long one, really gave me a writing boost. :D Please comment, I'll try to have the new chappie finished soon!


	10. Cross the Line, Cross the Swords

**Chapter 10: Cross the Line, Cross the Swords  
**

Shadow woke up when a cool breeze from the opened window blew over his face, the gray sunlight from a cloudy sky accompanying it.

Shadow's first thought was that today there would be a storm.

A warm feeling suddenly shifted at his lower waist and the black hedgehog looked down, surprised. It slowly dawned on him that the previous night it hadn't been the blanket keeping him warm, but his supposed slave, ever so docile in his sleep. Sonic's arms were encircling his torso, the face of the blue hero burrowed in his tummy fur, breathing evenly as he was lying half on Shadow, half on the bed. The Ultimate Lifeform would have been lying if he'd said he didn't like the feeling.

He slowly shifted underneath the blue body, trying to get out of the bed without waking the other up. Last night they had gotten back in the very small hours of the morning after their expedition to Black Doom's chambers had proved fruitless. And while Shadow could get by on very little sleep or no resting at all, it was Sonic who needed at least 6 hours or more before he was of any use. Therefore, the black hedgehog wisely decided to leave him be and instead go and interrogate the supposed alien King of this dimension by himself, trying to wriggle out the information about the Emerald.

A last glance at the curled, sleeping form on the bed brought another shadow of a smile to the Ultimate Lifeform's face. Sonic looked content, even with the collar still around his neck and Shadow briefly even daydreamed that this was because maybe the other finally felt safe when around him, even instinctively crawling close in his sleep.

The only detail disturbing the image of tranquility were the red and white sneakers Sonic still refused to take off in bed, his guard against any surprise attacks since without them the blue hero still felt vulnerable, being around Shadow or no. The black hedgehog just wished Sonic would trust him more...

_I lost Maria, Sonic. Do you really think I would make a mistake like that again? _

Shadow just shook his head one last time before heading out the door. Maybe he would find the Emerald now and they'd be home by midday. And for some irrational reason, a part of him wished he wouldn't.

xxx

Sonic woke up a little while later, not because of any half-metaphorical weather, but instead because of a very insistent empty stomach. Emerald eyes blinked around blearily.

_Great. Shadow's gone again. What is his problem?_

The blue hero sat up in bed, groaning, running a hand along his collar again, for once without the usual tugging at it, but a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought of the papers last night.

_Owned by Shadow…_

Sonic shook his head quickly and stepped out into the corridor instead. At the moment, all he needed was a bit of fresh air and every castle should have some towers with wind and view, right? The blue hedgehog walked along the stone walls, not really thinking where he was going, his thoughts a turmoil of wonderings about Prince Knuckles, Tails back home, the frightened slaves in the castle and again and again, Shadow…

Therefore, he did not notice the large, white-furred dingo turning the corner behind him until it was almost too late.

"My my, what have we here? It seems like that parrot Jet wasn't lying after all…"

Sonic whipped around at once, emerald eyes narrowed, glancing at the other warily. The dog was wearing a blue vest of sorts, spanning across his broad chest, his angular face set in a canine, predatory smirk. He was smelling slightly of sweat and seemed to be the type of rich bully Sonic had already encountered dozens of times. Contrary to most rich bullies, this one seemed to have the brawn to back up his words, but that still didn't raise Sonic's sympathy one bit.

Outside, the clouds were almost black now and the first winds howled in warning.

Not quite sure what he should do right now – run, fight, suggest deodorant? – Sonic merely remained standing, waiting for the other to reveal his plans. The blue hedgehog refused to back away when the dingo closed the distance between them, stubbornly staring up at the anthropomorph who was at least one foot taller than him.

"A red-collared pleasure slave…"

A white-furred hand grasped a surprised Sonic's chin and tilted it upwards a little, green eyes first widening, then flashing in anger.

"You're even prettier than the hawk said," the deep voice of the other rasped, dark blue eyes glinting. A second hand suddenly touched Sonic's neck, a thick finger running between the collar and tan fur, hooking itself in and pulling the hedgehog closer at his neck. "I want you."

Sonic thought he couldn't _believe_ this. Of course, he should have seen this coming but it still paralyzed him, his entire mind, unprepared, going numb…

Suddenly, he was pressed against a stone wall, the bulk of the dingo maneuvering him easily. Two large hands rubbed against his sides and his hitching chest, the white-furred male already grinning at his prize. "I'm big, you know? This will hurt…you can scream, if you want."

The words were reaching Sonic's ears like through a kind of fog, something in him screaming that he had to _do_ something before it was too late.

"No need to be afraid…it won't help you, you know?"

A foot nudged against his calves, spreading the blue legs apart. Sonic gasped as his head was suddenly yanked backwards by his spines, the sudden pain bringing his senses back to him.

The dingo smiled as he saw his helpless prey, neck and crotch exposed. Jet was such an idiot. He was always only teasing, never for once actually going through with his plans. Not like him…

Emerald eyes snapped open as something gripped Sonic hard below, leaving him unable to close his legs.

"Oh yes…squirm all you want. The moister you get, the less painful it'll be for you…"

Maybe the dingo should have chosen some different words. But as it was, 'painful' was a pretty accurate description of a roundhouse kick hitting you at 90 mph.

The white-furred assaulter screamed. Sonic launched another attack, speed making his rapid punches far more effective than strength alone.

"_Aaagh!"_

"You sick fu-!" The blue hedgehog's next words were unheard as the dingo's head snapped back with a crack, a white-gloved fist hitting him square in the jaw.

"Try this again and there won't be a third time," Sonic spat as his wannabe assaulter collapsed, "because you'll be missing _bits."_

The area in between his legs still felt like it was burning where he had been touched by the creep and Sonic felt utterly dirty.

"Just…just keep the hell away from me," the hero muttered, before dashing off again, still fuming with anger. If Black Doom had happened to cross his way now, the King would have been sent flying out of his own castle. As it was, Sonic merely arrived at their chambers again, sending the door crashing against the wall when he kicked it open. Shadow, who had just come back from his trip turned around, crimson eyes surprised but at once hardening.

"What the hell is wrong with you _now_, faker?"

"Listen, Shadow, I'm not gonna wear this collar a second longer," Sonic hissed, striding towards the other with the air bristling around him, "_First_, it chafes my skin, _second_, it's called 'choker' for a reason, always almost strangling me whenever I'm on a leash and _third,_ as that pervert trying to fuck me in the corridor just so kindly told me, it also designates me as a pleasure slave for the _whole goddamn world to use!_"

"What?" Shadow replied, perplexed for the moment. "Who-?"

"Give me the key to that collar. Now." Sonic was inches away from Shadow, all traces of humour gone. "This act is over."

The crimson stare cooled down by several degrees.

"…no."

"_What?_!"

"If you're here, it means you can defend yourself well enough. There is no reason for us to destroy our disguise and make returning so much harder," Shadow said, storing the key Sonic wanted securely in his quills.

"Give it to me."

"Forget it."

"I'm not putting up with this crap any more! Either you give it to me right now, or-"

"Or what?" Now Shadow's tone was as sharp as Sonic's. "Think you can take me on?"

A crack of thunder shook the room and lightning illuminated the faces of both hedgehogs sharply. The storm had begun.

Sonic lunged.

* * *

whee, short and action-filled, just the way I like'em. XD Well, how did you find it? Whose side are you on and who do ya think will win? Stay tuned for the next chappie and thanks for all your reviews!


	11. Kill Me, Kiss Me

**Chapter 11: Kill Me, Kiss Me**

Shadow twisted and the red sneaker soared past his head by inches. Sonic barely had time to snarl in frustration before a strong hand gripped his ankle and brought him down in mid-kick, the blue form crashing onto the floor.

"Pathetic."

Avarice comes before the fall and Shadow had never expected the next move.

The black hedgehog had flung Sonic onto the boards by whirling around his own axis, still holding the leg of the speedster and then sending him flying headfirst into the corner. But peach arms had caught their owner soon enough, Sonic turning the momentum of his crash into a breakdance-like twist on the floor, lithe legs coming around to connect with Shadow's knee in split seconds.

The black hedgehog screamed as he fell.

"Still 'pathetic', you stuck-up…_faker_?" Sonic managed from where he had flipped onto his feet again, wiping blood from a split lip off his face with the back of his glove.

Shadow, in the other corner of the room, winced as he forced his damaged leg to support his weight again, but crimson eyes blazed as cold as light on a frozen blade.

"That, slave, was a mistake."

Chaos Energy hissed as hover skates flared into murderous life.

"I'm _not-_"

Shadow charged.

It was maybe a tenth second slower than Sonic himself, but the almost red-glowing aura around the Ultimate Lifeform ensured that it was just as frightening. A punch grazed Sonic's side as he ducked away and a defensive sideways kick into Shadow's direction was blocked by another one, Chaos fire from the underside of the dark one's shoes burning blue fur on a thigh.

"Cheater!" Sonic screamed in pain.

"Weakling!" was the scoffed reply.

A knee connected with Shadow's stomach brutally.

"Stop underestimating me, Shads," Sonic managed in between ragged breathing as the black hedgehog bent double, "It would save you a whole lot of hurt."

The balled fist hit the blue hero's solar plexus so fast even Sonic couldn't have dodged. Stars of over-strained pain receptors streamed into the vision of the staggering speedster, the azure hedgehog powerless as Shadow finally up-righted himself and, wheezing, twisted a peach arm painfully onto Sonic's back.

"Underestimating you, blue hedgehog, isn't even _possible._"

"Agh! Let _go_!" The supposed slave squirmed in his Master's grasp and against Shadow behind him, standing on his toe tips to instinctively escape the pain caused by the trapped arm.

"Not this time, Sonic. For once, you will _do as I say_," the ostensible Prince pressed through his teeth, Sonic's eyes squeezed shut in pain, mouth opened in a gasp caused by the punishment.

Then, a heel of a sneaker rapping down Shadow's shin was the only answer.

It also took a good deal of black fur with it to undermine its statement.

The Ultimate Lifeform hissed, his grip slackening for fractions of a second and that was all the time Sonic needed. He whipped around faster than the eye could see, a swipe of his left leg and a punch to his face shattering Shadow's balance and sending the dark one tumbling backwards into the writing desk. Sonic was on him in an instant, bending the other one over the wooden table, green eyes furious with insulted pride.

"Do what you say, 'Shads'? Doing that almost got me _raped_," Sonic snarled, looming over the other one pinned down onto the wood, feet encased in jet shoes not quite touching the floor where the black-furred hip half lay on, half hung from the edge of the table. "Do you wanna be screwed by someone you don't even know? Does this feel good to you? Now give me the fucking _key_!"

The blue hedgehog had held down the wrists of the other with both arms outstretched, moving in between spread black legs as he brought his face closer to drive his point home. Crimson eyes finally opened and for some reason suddenly Sonic's throat went dry. From up close, they somehow looked…different…Sonic wondered whether it might be because Shadow was in pain right now, but they were in some way _softer_…deeper, more expressive than he had expected them to be. Sonic's expression of rage was gone as quickly as confusion took its place, Shadow giving him a slightly surprised, frowning look where he still lay fixated underneath him, almost as if he was asking a question without words…

_The key, the key is in his quills, I should reach around his head, yeah, I can get it out and get rid of the collar, the…the key…_some part of Sonic's brain was insisting, but the blue hedgehog had frozen. He was suddenly aware of everything at once, the pulse in Shadow's wrists in his hands, the rising and sinking of the white-tufted chest underneath him, his smell, the slight movements of the legs beside his lower body, the…the warmth of the fur where their bodies were touching where Shadow's legs parted…heat was rushing to Sonic's face and fast. He felt like every pore was gushing sweat and suddenly had the irrational desire to push his face into Shadow's chest, nuzzling the body of the other until he had explored every detail. And Shadow still just…stared.

It was the first hedgehog-caused sonic boom in this dimension, but at least the thunderstorm outside covered up the shattering of the sound wall as the blue hero departed running.

xxx

Shadow blinked. He continued to lie on the table for another ten minutes, trying to process what had just happened. Sonic attacking him…pressing him down…and somehow, he had not been angry, but just slightly surprised, all willing to wait and see what happened.

The black chest heaved with a sigh that was followed by a wince. Now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off, Shadow could also feel all the places where the other had hit him, his midriff and snout throbbing dully and a sharp pain lacerating through his thigh when he put weight on his left leg.

It had been…nice to be in contact with Sonic. Shadow guiltily thought of all the times where he had attacked the speedster before, every contact of fists and shoes bringing also something else than pain, a tingle…and how he had sat down and watched the unconscious form that one time, when he had won. Just looking at the sleeping blue hedgehog, chest slowly rising and falling in exhaustion…and of course, when Sonic had woken up, he had had no idea that the same one who had knocked him out had also guarded him when he was defenseless.

_He is important to me. I want to keep him._

The realization sank through Shadow slowly, like the tip of an iceberg slowly melting and trickling down.

A humourless chuckle followed it, unheard in the empty room.

_Some time to find out. Well, as things are going now, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. And just when I thought I had some more time…_

He hadn't been able to tell Sonic yet, but when he had gone to see Black Doom this morning, it had turned out the alien overlord had actually left the castle on a surprise trip, destination top secret. Shadow was willing to bet his red highlights that this had something to do with the Chaos Emerald. However, the Horned One was expected back tomorrow and therefore Shadow had thought that this day they would maybe be able to just wait and relax…

…and maybe just get a little bit closer. _If he just wasn't so goddamn stubborn!_

A frown crossed the dark hedgehog's face at that. Was it normal that a single person could drive you mad, entrance, intrigue, beat you up and amuse you at the same time?

_I'm not sure whether this is love, madness, or both. But I intend to find out._

Gritting his teeth at the pain of forcing his injured leg to walk, Shadow stood up from the table, walked out the door and set out to find his wayward slave and newfound interest.

xxx

Sonic, meanwhile, had at least found the towers he had been looking for in the morning already. Now he was crouched on one of the castle walls, one knee drawn up to his chin, the other dangling down from the stone. Wind was blowing through his quills, calming him somewhat and cooling the bruises inflicted by Shadow. The storm seemed to have paused for the moment. Half-lidded emerald eyes stared ahead unfocused while their owner tried to understand life, the universe and black hedgehogs in particular.

Sonic also was badly bruised, yet he was someone used to get injured and was hardly paying attention to his aching body. Instead, with his face resting on his folded arms on his knee, he wished that everything was as straightforward as a battle with a genetically engineered Lifeform intent on smashing your bones.

"It's not right for him to keep me as his slave," Sonic mumbled, his eye ridges drawing together slightly. Still, it wasn't as if he had minded that terribly so far…Shadow had been kind…and Sonic was still wearing the collar. Even if Shadow hadn't given him the key, there should have been a way to get rid of it, a kitchen knife or something…but he hadn't. He still wore it.

"What is wrong with me?" Sonic asked himself quietly, a hand raising to brush along the choker, wishing he wasn't alone at the moment but had someone he could ask in his confusion. Someone whom he could trust…Tails was his best friend, but not someone to whom Sonic could go with his more…adult problems. Knuckles also wasn't a choice, even if the echidna could give good advice on other topics. Tikal, perhaps, but how to contact her? The various other girls weren't even worth a try.

Sonic just wished he had someone right now who could understand him and maybe hold him…o_r just scratch me behind the ears._

Emerald eyes blinked. Again, odd thought. And he could feel the warmth in his cheeks already creeping up as he couldn't help imagine time and time again Shadow being the one to calm him, pet him, hold him…

"This can't go on," the blue hero muttered, burying his hot face in his arms, faint feelings of humiliation making themselves known in a rather fierce flush.

"I just beat him to a pulp and now I want to cuddle up to him. Sonic the Hedgehog, you're screwed up beyond belief."

Well, at least he was feeling a little bit better. The fight with Shadow had helped to release the anger that had built up from the dingo incident. Sonic took a deep breath and dropped down from his perching place.

_I should go look for him. Now that I think of it, he hasn't said a word whether he's found anything out about the Emerald…_

He wasn't sure what he would do when he found the other one. It was also very likely that Shadow would be royally pissed off and they would just brawl all over again. But Sonic knew that it couldn't go on like this…he needed to find him. They needed to work things out. As Master and Slave…and maybe as something else as well.

_To be continued..._


	12. I Trusted You

**Chapter 11: I Trusted You**

"By now I must have looked everywhere except underneath the floorboards. Where _is_ that hedgehog?" Shadow muttered, thoroughly annoyed by now. He had been searching for Sonic during the last two hours, late afternoon becoming later still. He had been to the courtyard, the stables, the throne room, Black Doom's chambers again, to all of the four towers, even the kitchens, ignoring all the odd stares of passers-by who were wondering about the sudden wanderlust of their Prince, but of his supposed slave he hadn't seen so much as a single quill.

Shadow was just about to return to their dorm, hoping that maybe Sonic had gone there and they maybe had just missed each other, when a certain purple, very annoying reptile came running up behind him, and it wasn't Barney the Dinosaur.

"My Prince! My Prince! It isss outrageoussss!"

"Indeed. You're using up so many consonants nobody else has any left."

"Wh-what?!" Lazar stammered, taken aback by Shadow's muttered remark. The dark Prince had half-turned and said it over his shoulder, before turning around fully and giving an irritated sigh.

"Never mind. What is it?"

"We've captured your ssslave!"

"Sonic? Where?" Shadow tried not to let his surprise and sudden, irrational apprehension show, but his eyes snapped fully open nonetheless. A part of him was immediately concerned – if they said they had _captured_ Sonic, did that mean that there had been a fight? Was Sonic injured? Somehow this question concerned Shadow a lot more than whether the blue hedgehog had blown their charade in the process…

"In your room, my Prince!" Lazar lisped auferegt, his tail swishing nervously from side to side, "It isss terribly, that blue-furred ssavage attacked Lord Drago! Hisss hip iss damaged! Oh my Prince, we apprehended him in your room, ssleeping, he could have hurt _you_ next!"

"Attacked _me_? Laughable." Shadow tried very hard to stand in a way that did not suggest his left knee was currently wanting to buckle and refuse to work for the rest of the day.

"He issss not broken. It wass…perhapss a misssjudgement to take him into your private chamberss sso early, my Prince." Lazar was looking at the ground, choosing his words carefully, but it was obvious his resentment towards Shadow's treatmeant of Sonic was growing.

The black hedgehog scowled and his tone was just a fraction sharper when he continued. "I generally do not make mistakes, Lazar. I hope I am not making one by keeping you around my person."

"N-no! Of, of courssse not, my Prince, I wass merely ssuggesting-!"

"Where is my slave right now?"

"In the dungeonss, we resstrained him, we thought it besst to inform you before taking any sssteps-"

"Very well. I want to see him."

Lazar nodded and turned, and Shadow was pleased to notice that if reptiles had been capable of sweating, the purple lizard by now would have made for a nice (if tasteless) indoor fountain. But still, even if he was able to keep Lazar in check for the time being, the black hedgehog was all too well aware that obedience born only from fear was the weakest possible foundation for any ruler. If Lazar continued to suspect that something was wrong with Shadow and his stubborn slave, and maybe found some support, the reptile would turn against him as soon as Shadow let down his guard. It was a dangerous game they were playing and time was running out – they would need to find the Emerald soon, or else the Ultimate Lifeform could already see himself trying to explain where exactly he had found Chaos-powered hover skates in a medieval world in front of a royal court.

_Not to mention a certain pair of red-white sneakers_, Shadow thought grimly, just before stepping through the dungeon door he was starting to find too familiar for his liking.

The scene that greeted him was not too different from the one he had encountered upon his first arrival in the paralell dimension. The bulldog dungeon master as well as the cat servant were present, plus two guards consisting of a rhino and an elephant. Torches were burning on the walls since it was already too dark outside for the small barred window in the top of the wall to provide sufficient illumination. Sonic was strapped to a wooden table on his belly, spread-eagled as both his ankles and wrists were encased in shackles, stretched just enough that it wouldn't be painful, but that he couldn't move, either. At Shadow's entry, his head whipped round, emerald eyes wide, and his mouth opened as if he wanted to call out, but then closed it instead, just looking at his supposed Master with an unreadable expression.

"What did he do exactly?" the black hedgehog asked after a moment's hesitation, deciding it would be best to know as much as possible before taking any steps.

"He attacked Lord Drago without provocation, my Prince," Greytail answered, reading from a list. "Also, this slave is still supposed to be leashed, yet left the chamber he was supposed to stay in. According to His Lordship, he met this slave in the West Corridor at three in the afternoon today, and the hedgehog did not only refuse a direct command, but also injured His Lordship by kicking, punching and biting several times."

"'Without provocation' up my spines! And I did _not_ bite!" Sonic, whose eyes had ever more narrowed during the list of his accusations, shouted, but immediately a vicious crack of the whip hit his unprotected back and his whole body arched as he gasped, then fell silent, refusing to cry out.

If anybody had noticed the sudden, murderous look in Shadow's eyes, then they didn't say anything, and by the time Greytail looked up again, it was long gone, the obsidian face as impassive as ever.

"I would like to talk to Lord Drago about this," Shadow said coolly. "I need to express my condolences."

_Condolences after I'm done dealing with him, that is,_ he thought, adding a mental cynical chuckle. _If he is the guy who tried to rape Sonic, then there is no place in the entire __castle__ he'll be safe. _

"Lord Drago hasss excussed himself from public life for a few dayss. He isss in recuperation," Lazard lisped, shooting a baleful glance at Sonic (which the hedgehog returned with a snarl) for the last sentence. "Yet thiss ssslave musst be dealt with now, my Prince."

Shadow nodded. "I see. What did you have in mind, Lazar?"

The lizard smiled. "Death."

Sonic's face had turned expressionless. Shadow pretended to consider for a moment, staring down at his pet tied before him with carefully calculating eyes. He thought he could almost see Sonic tense under his gaze, the hedgehog unable to turn his head far enough to see Shadow's expression. Finally, the black hedgehog spoke.

"…no. I do not wish for him to die. What alternatives can we consider?"

"Leave him alive? But, my Prince, the King decreed-"

"My _father_ is currently not in the castle. And he also usually doesn't immerse himself in my affairs," Shadow announced, hoping to Maria that this was actually the truth. Judging by the fact that no spear-brandishing guards sprang into action yelling "Impostor! Where have you hidden the _true_ Prince?!", it seemed as if he had gotten away with his act once more.

Lazar gnashed his teeth in barely concealed frustration and flicked his tongue angrily. It was clear that this meeting wasn't going the way he had planned. Frowning in exasperation, the purple reptile snapped at the cat servant:

"Greytail. What is the alternative procedure in case of an unbroken slave attacking a Lord?"

The cat unfurled his parchments and scanned them again. Then he looked up again, slightly paler.

"…severe corporal punishment. Amputation of body part while fully conscious."

If Lazar had looked annoyed before, now he could have been used in the Happy Days theme song. "Isss that sso, Greytail. Well, I alwayss appreciated the sssspecial jusstice Hiss Majessty understandsss to dispensse. Now, I would suggesst perhapss the leg…"

"No." Shadow had glimpsed the pure terror in Sonic's eyes for one brief second. It was something he hadn't even known the other was capable of feeling. The supposed Prince licked over his tan lips as Lazar then raised an eye ridge, the mind of the Ultimate Lifeform racing to find a way out of this.

"I will forcibly remove part of his spines instead."

"What?! But they grow _back_!" Lazar snarled, apparently unable to contain his frustration with the Prince any longer. Shadow's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"So do lizards' limbs, as I've heard, Lazar," the dark Prince said in a low tone, "Shall we test that theory?"

When the purple reptile only opened and closed his mouth, speechless, Shadow turned around to Greytail. "Will that be acceptable as punishment?"

"Ripping his quills out? Yes, I should think so," the cat replied, tapping the roll of his parchments against his chin thoughtfully. To the bulldog dungeonmaster, he said: "Amboss. Prepare the coals and the grippers."

When the canine had nodded and gone to another corner of the room, Lazar had found his speech again, even if it now sounded rather sourly.

"Very well. If that iss your wish, my Prince. You may wish to leave now ass well, ssince the following procedure will be rather boring and…_messsy_," the lizard grinned at Sonic during the last word.

Shadow however shook his head, by now pretty certain the purple reptile would pop a vessel rather soon.

"You might not have understood me, Lazar. I intend to carry out the punishment myself, and a_lone._"

"Ah…my Prince…" Lazar spoke carefully, "Your father…he is not quite convinced that you have the necessary _aptitude_ for reprimanding this slave. Your treatments so far have had little effect on him, therefore it was questioned whether you…used enough force."

_Great. They're already mistrusting me. And are catching on, at that._

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "You imply that I am too soft."

"Well, my Prince…"

"Then leave me alone, and after two hours I will present to you enough spines torn from this slave that you will never doubt me again."

The tone in which this was said had them all swallow. After a moment of silence, Lazar finally found out that not even a lizard could hold Shadow's gaze for long, and he dropped his head.

"It will be ass you order, my Prince. I look forward to sseeing the resssults of your undoubtedly magnificent work."

And with that, the trio left the chamber, leaving Shadow, a bound Sonic, a bowl of red-glowing coals, and the pliers gleaming in the firelight alone.

xxx

Sonic felt his heart hammering against his ribs. They had assaulted him when he was sleeping, pressuring a point on his neck until he lost consciousness and then woke up shackled in here.

Now he was alone with Shadow. He hated his vulnerable position, did not want to have his legs forced apart after the incident with the dingo, loathed being on display like this. And, even if he didn't show it, he was also afraid.

Shadow had, once again, shooed out any audience. But did that mean the other hedgehog did not mean to harm him? Sonic knew the way Shadow moved and he could see the slight limp nobody else had noticed. He had hurt Shadow. Badly.

And in terms of _revenge_, the Ultimate Lifeform could let Ms Kill Bill look like Barbie.

He tensed again, squirming slightly as Shadow passed by behind him, certain to feel the black one's gaze travelling over his body. Sonic turned his face away as he felt heat creeping into his cheeks.

It was almost a relief when Shadow finally sat down on the table he was lying on, close to his face, but not looking at him.

"So, what should I do now?"

"Well, you're supposed to torture me," Sonic replied as lightly as he could, hoping the black hedgehog would not notice his false bravado.

"And indeed I think I should."

Sonic felt like his blood had turned to liquid ice. "Look, I already told you, that _other_ guy started it! It's only because of this _stupid collar-"_ he strained against his bonds futilely again, until a hand of Shadow on his back pressed him gently down again.

"Yes. I know. But we still have to make this look convincing."

Now for the first time Sonic turned his head to look up at him, emerald eyes disbelieving. "You…you are not actually going to…?"

_Rip my quills out,_ the collared hero couldn't quite bring himself to say. It would have been as excruciating as a human getting his fingernails torn from his hands, the pain multiplied a hundredfold because there were so many more targets on his back, and multiplied again when the coals would be used to burn out the resulting wounds to prevent infection.

Sonic's most distinguishing feature were the six large quills on his head and the two smaller ones on his back, of course, but only when you looked closer you could see that there were actually many, many smaller and finer ones in between, covering the back of his skull and his back down to his tail. Even the large spikes were actually made of a myriad of small ones, so tightly compressed that Sonic could slice with them through metal, if he wanted to. Normal Mobian hedgehogs had small spines only and they indeed did grow back.

"I'm not sure I have another choice." Shadow's voice was as calm as ever.

Sonic felt like his heart had constricted. The other one was actually going to do this. Was going to cause Sonic unbearable pain just so their little pretend-play could be kept upright. Was not even bothered by it. Was abusing his total _helplessness_ when Sonic had submitted until now so willingly because he had thought they were…

_Yeah,_ Sonic thought, his face still blank, _what did I think we were_? _Friends_? He wanted to scoff mentally, but he couldn't. Because 'Friends' hadn't really been the right word. Because deep down, when he had been chained in this room with total, sadistic strangers, waiting and hoping for Shadow to arrive to get him out of this mess, he had thought of the black hedgehog differently. Had thought how he had set his heart racing, had thought how calming it had been falling asleep next to him, had thought how he had enjoyed the other's company more than he ever imagined he would, despite the circumstances.

_I thought_…_I thought I might even love him._

And now Sonic turned his head away and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, refusing to cry and gnashing his bared teeth together so he would not give the other the satisfaction of a scream when his master reached for his unprotected quills.

His heart was already torn apart, so let his body follow.

_To be continued..._

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Is Shadow actually going to do this? Will Drago have his revenge? How long until the inevitable lemon scene? Please read and review! :D


	13. For the Very First Time

**Chapter 12: For the Very First Time**

Sonic was surprised when the next touch that came wasn't hot pain searing through his back, but instead a gentle, almost…affectionate stroking along his side. His eyes opened again, surprised.

"Shh…what is wrong, your muscles have tensed up as if you would go into seizure…" Shadow murmured close to him, still trailing his hand over Sonic's blue fur, fingertips brushing over the skin over his ribcage.

The blue hedgehog took a few seconds before he could reply. His head turned once more towards Shadow and his tone sounded strained.

"I…thought you wanted to rip out my quills?" the blue hedgehog half-asked, hoping his voice wasn't as shaky as he expected it to be.

"_Want_ is kind of the wrong word, Sonic." Shadow chuckled a bit and his ostensible slave immediately felt a spike of fury flare up inside him at the other taking this so lightly. Sonic tried to cling to that anger, which was so much better than the paralyzing fear…

"Yeah, but you're still gonna do it. Wouldn't you expect anyone about to be tortured to 'tense up'?" Sonic snarled, still refusing to meet those crimson eyes where he had believed to see softness once…he tried to twist away from the hand petting him but it was futile.

"Torture?" Shadow's fingers halted. "What did you think I was going to do?"

"Tear holes in my back and burn them out with glowing coals, _Shads. _That, obviously," the shackled hedgehog snapped and was glad to feel the hand finally dropping away from his side. When Shadow didn't say anything for the next few moments, though, Sonic in the end gave up and turned enough to look at his supposed Master, too morbidly curious what was going on now. Emerald eyes widened slightly as he saw the other one all but turned to stone, sitting on the table and staring at his own hand held in front of him. The black hedgehog's posture was slumped and his face was expressionless, yet his eyes…his eyes were just as soft as Sonic was sure they had been just hours ago, but now they also spoke of a sadness that wavered between the wistful and the bitter, and of a disappointment that had hurt badly.

"…Shadow?" Sonic finally asked, completely unsure as to what was going on right now, but also sensing that perhaps his flayed back was not top priority of the agenda anymore right now.

"You thought I was going to actually tear your spines out. You thought me capable of doing this to you," Shadow spoke quietly and blue ears had to twist towards him to understand his words.

"Well, you-" Sonic started, but the black hedgehog interrupted him again, still talking in that quiet voice.

"I know I've done some…questionable things in the past. But I thought you had seen me differently. I thought you…actually trusted me."

"But I _did_!" the blue hedgehog protested, "Right up until - and then you seemed so - and I thought you were _mad_ at me and wanted – and – and - and what _were_ you actually planning to do?" Sonic finished, emerald now confused.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not going to force this charade on you any longer. I'm sorry for putting you through this," Shadow sounded tired. "I'll go out there, take that bulldog out and open your shackles. Then we can blast out of the castle, find and challenge Black Doom," he said, simultaneously reaching back into his quills and taking out the key they had fought so vicously over only hours ago. "Just hold still so I can open your collar. Later, I can distract Black Doom and when you get the Emerald, Chaos Control home without m-"

"No!"

Shadow blinked. He had just been about to insert the key into the lock that forced the choker around Sonic's neck, but now the blue hedgehog twisted away from him, looking up into his eyes.

"Shadow, I won't leave you here. I've watched you chosing your own demise over a future once, I won't let you do it again. Geez, you don't really learn, do you?"

The black hedgehog frowned, a part of him noting that Sonic was probably referring to their joined fight against Biolizard.

"But…what about…this afternoon you almost broke my _knee_ to get at this key," Shadow stated, wondering what was actually happening here.

"Yeah. I wanted to say I'm sorry," Sonic said, looking away again, then raising his gaze once more, waiting for an answer.

"Then…you don't want me opening your collar?" the black hedgehog asked, disbelief clearly evident in his voice.

Sonic gave a wry smile. "It would ruin our little play, wouldn't it? And also such a shame about your acting talent." He paused, as if considering whether to go on and then added quietly, not meeting Shadow's gaze: "…and I don't mind it so much anymore, either."

There was a pause. Shadow brushed once more over bound blue, even more softly now.

"Sonic…"

The blue form flinched, then visibly relaxed underneath his touch. When Sonic spoke again, it was with the first genuine smile of this day. "We can do this, Shads. Together. I'm sorry for thinking you would…you know."

"I'm sorry for _making_ you think it."

The edges of the Ultimate Lifeform's mouth twitched just slightly and for a while they just gazed at each other silently, the dim glowing of the coal basin making this the most romantic torture chamber possible.

"…so, uh, what were you actually planning to do to me?" Sonic asked quickly as the moment had passed and Shadow also unconsciously shuffled his position, feeling awkward for no reason. The question of the other brought him right back on track, though.

"Just relax and you'll see…don't move."

Sonic did as he was told. And then couldn't help but shiver as he suddenly felt Shadow reaching _inside_ his spines.

It was something that happened only very rarely. It was a prickly job to reach into a normal hedgehog's quills, but Sonic's were sharper than Death's scythe. The only one who could handle herself in there without getting her hand cut up so far had been Amy, having an innate knack since being a hedgehog herself. It was no wonder that Shadow had told his supposed slave to keep still, because moving on Sonic's part would surely have meant injury no matter his species…

But even so…since the azure hedgehog's back was basically a blue-spiked death-trap, it had rarely been touched at all. For Sonic, it had always been his weapon, his way of carving through earth, his last line of defense. Feeling Shadow's fingers carefully picking their way through this jungle, going in deeper than hardly anyone else had ever been permitted, having him _invading_ like this, he felt…vulnerable. And almost embarrassed.

When Tails had been little, they had often played a game that consisted of Sonic drawing letters, pictures (or later, simple technical parts) on his back with his finger and Tails guessing the word he was writing. They could only play the game one-way round, obviously, but Sonic had never minded, just being happy when Tails was happy, too. Yet it had always mystified him whatever had given the little fox such a kick out of it.

Then Shadow's fingers touched down on the sensitive short-furred skin underneath the quills, skin that had hardly ever been touched before and Sonic knew. A shudder ran through his entire form and his fists clenched as he tried to suppress it, eyes once more squeezed shut.

When he opened them, he was looking at one of his own small spines, held leisurely in front of his face between two white-gloved fingers.

Sonic blinked. "…a quill? But…how…I didn't feel _anything,_ how did you-?!"

Shadow smiled slightly. "Look more carefully, faker. It's one of your _old_ quills. Already dead when I pulled it out."

Sonic's lips formed formed a silent 'o'. Of course. Quills were growing all the time, old ones falling out when they were disconnected by a fresh spike growing from underneath. Female hedgehogs actually had special quill brushes to make sure all old ones were sorted out immediately, while most males just waited until they came out eventually, underneath the shower or in bed. (And it was the wives of those hedgehogs constantly complaining about constipated drains and unloved surprises when sitting down on the husband's mattress…)

Really rich females sometimes even got quill treatments, similar to human women getting peelings. (Sonic knew because Amy had dragged him along to one, which had been one of the most boring two hours in his life). It consisted of a beautician painstakingly going through your fur and picking out every dead quill, even the ones that were still a bit attached, then polishing the lot of them and encouraging new spines to grow back faster.

Which was exactly what Shadow was doing to him at the moment.

"But…won't they notice it's my old quills?" he asked, hoping he had his voice under control.

Shadow smirked. "That's the beauty of it. First, your spines don't grey out like others', and second, an old, blunt spine of you is about as sharp and flexible as a new one of any other 'hog. They won't suspect a thing."

"You sure?" Sonic asked warily, already way too distracted by Shadow's hand at the edge of his peripheral vision creeping towards his back again.

"Yes," Shadow said, "Now just close your eyes and and relax…"

Sonic obeyed, even if he kept his eyes open. Shadow worked on him in silence, the black-furred hand reaching in again and again. Sonic wanted to squirm badly at first, the touches not only ticklish for him, but also buzzing like electrictiy into his body. Just like when Shadow had brushed against him when putting the leash around his neck.

_Is that what love is?_ Sonic wondered, swallowing with a dry throat to keep himself from emitting a pitiful whimper as Shadow's fingers once again carefully sorted through his quills, finding their next target. _That feeling whenever somebody touches you? _

He had heard about butterflies in the stomach. About weak knees, hot ears, and wagging tails. Being in love with somebody on 220 volt had _not_ been part of the stories.

Sonic tried to press himself flatter against the wood, but of course he could only achieve mere milimetres that way, and if Shadow was noticing that, he didn't act on it.

The blue hedgehog lay there, trying to concentrate on a certain rectangle stone in the wall a few metres in front of his face. It didn't feel _bad,_ exactly. He could almost enjoy getting groomed like that, even if he _was_ bound and hating the fact.

But, as the growing blush on his cheeks testified, it was also a rather _intimate_ treatment. Like in a loving couple the male grooming the female's fur. Sonic felt a bit…he couldn't exactly say 'emasculated' (despite the de-quilling being basically a female thing, like a human woman getting a wax treatment), but…this whole defenseless thing didn't sit well with him. Yet, as another useless yank on the heavy steel chains binding his wrists ensured, the metal links clattering against the wood sharply, he had no other choice but to lie down and endure, hoping Shadow never ever looked down into his face.

"We're almost done," Shadow said a while later, now reaching for the pliers and extracting a glowing coal from the basin. Sonic immediately wanted to recoil.

"Yeah? Then what do you need _that_ for?"

"I told you to hold still, didn't I? Now do it, or this will hurt."

Sonic did so reluctantly, his heart still quickening its pace in panic. He was completely at Shadow's mercy – couldn't even struggle, because that would ensure pain for _sure_…he held his breath as the coal descended.

…and released it thirty seconds later when anything else would have meant suffocation. The agony hadn't yet come…Sonic could feel a warmness hovering just about his skin, though, and then he had the distinct impression of a hardened, deadened quill channeling great heat, and _then_ the stench hit his nose…

"Ugh! Shadow, what the hell are you doing to my back?!"

"Gettinck some dice burnmarks on dere. Believe me, de air dowd dere at your end is bedda."

Somehow, Sonic had the impression Shadow was talking with one hand pinching his nose.

When Amboss the dungeonmaster entered, Sonic looked devastated. His fur was ragged, his body wet with what Amboss presumed were sweat and tears, and when he spoke, his voice was quivering and hoarse. The chained hero gave the impression that he couldn't even lift his head anymore, a pitiful attempt at speaking all he could manage before sagging right back onto the table. The emerald eyes had lost their sparkle, dull now like dead leaves. His words were only a whisper.

"_Please…kill me and __end__ it…"_

And even Shadow had to admit that Sonic was _at least_ as good as himself.

Lazar and Greytail walked in after them, the former giving a dry chuckle at Sonic's feeble plead. Instead he asked, tongue flicking in eagerness: "My Prince? May we sssee them?"

Shadow only gave him a condescending look. "If you insist…"

Even Sonic had to raise an eyebrow at the amount of quills in the metal bowl Shadow presented, looking like a collection of long, blue pine needles. He had had no idea that there had been such an amount of deadweight in his back.

The purple lizard at first looked taken aback, too. He glanced at Sonic, back at the bowl, back at the coal basin and then at Shadow and the bowl again. He scowled. Then the he took a spike, glowered at it, poked himself, yelped, and then glowered some more.

Shadow pretended to look concerned. "…need a band-aid?"

"A _what?!_" Lazar snapped, before gasping and hurriedly remembering his place again. "I meant no, my Prince, thank you. No aid required, though I feel honoured you should offer it."

"And pray tell, what do you think of Sonic, then?" Shadow asked pleasantly, once more laying a hand on the blue hedgehog's neck, Sonic dutifully recoiling under his touch.

"I, I should think he looks sufficiently broken, my Prince," Amboss rumbled uncertainly in his deep voice, before a glare of Lazar's immediately let him snap his jaw shut again. Greytail was unperturbed by the antics of the lizard, though.

"I will record the punishment of amputation of spines and give the report to His Majesty when he returns tomorrow. My Prince," he finished, bowing smartly and then retreating from the dungeon chamber. Lazar was the last one to remain. The reptile ground his teeth.

"…the punishment has been carried out. The slave is yours again. _However,_" he (tried) not to snarl, "there is no verification he is truly broken. He will remain on the leash and be put to death in case of a second breach of law. My…Prince," he also ended his statement and almost rushed out of the chamber, apparently afraid to fail to contain his anger any longer.

Sonic looked at Shadow, still tied. As soon as Amboss was out of earshot, he hissed:

"That lizard needs to get _laid_."

Shadow was pretty certain that Princes _didn't_ snort, but he thought he could permit himself that one time.

_To be continued..._

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If you read, please review? :D


	14. Morning After

**Chapter 13: Morning After**

Sonic was woken up when he couldn't move. He seemed to be shackled once again, but this time he was on his back, and not in the dungeon chamber, but on their bed. In confusion, he tugged at the binds holding his wrists captive and wished he could see anything _beyond_ the bed, but the whole room was shrouded in inexplicable darkness, even if the moonlight usually had always been enough to discern silhouettes at least.

"Shadow…?" Sonic mouthed, his own voice sounding so distant he wasn't even sure he'd said it.

"Yes?" The black hedgehog had suddenly melted from the darkness surrounding the bed and was standing next to Sonic's tied feet, his expression predatory. "What is it you want, Sonic?"

"I'm…I'm tied…" the blue hedgehog mumbled, wondering why his brain didn't work like he wanted it to, still more asleep than awake.

"I know," the other whispered. "But you like it."

"Wha…? N-no, I don't…"

"You do. I will _make_ you like it…" And then Shadow was at his side all at once as if he had Chaos Controlled there, kneeling by Sonic's neck on the bed. The black hedgehog bent down and emerald eyes snapped wide open as suddenly a wet tongue traced along the side of his throat, right up to his choker.

"Let me taste you, my pet…"

"I'm…I'm not-!" Sonic wanted to squirm more wildly now, but the restraints seemed only to have gotten tighter. He was acutely aware of the presence of the other above him, Shadow's hands to both sides of his body while his mouth was at work on the blue-furred neck, making Sonic whimper and arch and want to escape and wanting more…

"You're _mine,_ Sonic._"_

"I…" His protests were getting ever more feeble, the black hedgehog now moving over to straddle him, his hands running over his chest as he was exploring his prize. Sonic was ticklish, and tried to shake Shadow off, and suddenly this reminded him _way_ too much of the dingo today.

"No…_stop_!"

"A good slave doesn't protest, Sonic…" Shadow only replied, suddenly grasping the chin of the subdued hero in one of his hands and tilting his head even further backwards. "You will obey."

And then it was soft tan lips muffling Sonic's next complaint and when he tried to scream, Shadow's tongue had already invaded him.

This was going too fast. This was scaring him. He wanted to thrash, but somehow even his body didn't seem to obey him anymore…he mewled as his mouth was ravaged, unable to contain the other at all.

He could feel Shadow on top of him everywhere, his hands, his chest fur, his mouth and nose, his torso and hips grinding against his, and it was almost suffocating Sonic, who was spiralling off into a panic. There was the smell of the other, too, smelling of damp wood, smoke and something sharp, spicy that Sonic had never been able to place. Shadow smelled like an all-consuming fire.

"No…_please_!"

"You want this, don't you?"

"I-" the blue hedgehog started, staring up into crazily gleaming red eyes when the black one had stopped pressing into him for a moment. "I…"

"That is not what I want to hear, Sonic," Shadow smirked at him now, "You'll have to do do better than that, or else I'll just _take_ what I want."

"What? No!"

Sonic gasped, at once realizing what the other was about to do and being scared stiff because of it. But he could already feel Shadow moving back between his legs, two powerful hands forcing his thighs apart, and then one moving along the inner side of his leg all the way to the point where his legs parted, cupping his behind with one hand beneath his tail and pulling him closer to bring him into position.

"NO!" Sonic shouted once again, tears beginning to form in his eyes, but unable to do anything, "NO! SHADOW!"

But it was the last thing he saw before the black hedgehog, face distorted into a grin made of nightmares, suddenly transformed into the white dingo, and then Sonic screamed, screamed until he woke up.

The Shadow next to him now was a lot less threatening and instead a lot more ruffled bed-head fur and disturbed stares.

"…what the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

Sonic blinked. He was lying in their common bed. Check. Shadow had sat up next to him, staring at the blue hedgehog with wide eyes. Check. Faint moonlight was falling in through the window, showing him this was the same room he had been sleeping in for the last four days. Check. He was drenched in sweat and hopelessly entangled in the bed sheets, while his pulse was racing like he had decided to jog up the Mt Everest for the hell of it. …check?

"Sha-dow…?" Sonic mumbled, slightly perturbed. His dream. Shadow had been in it, right? He could barely remember what it had been about, only that he had been very, very scared…

The black hedgehog relaxed a little when he recognized that Sonic was coherent again. "Had a nightmare?" he asked casually.

"Uh-huh," the collared hero nodded, for some reason suddenly feeling more embarrassed than a simple nightmare should give reason to. "I…I can't remember what it was about, though…did I…_say_ anything?"

There was a pause. Shadow wondered what was going through the blue speedster's head right now – fact was, Sonic _had_ yelled his name several times during his sleep, but it had been in fear and pain. And while the Ultimate Lifeform had previously always been able to calm the unconscious Sonic in these situations, tonight he had only made it worse when he tried to touch the other, which had resulted in him keeping as far away as possible until Sonic had woken up a few moments later, still screaming as if he had been seeing hell...

"Nothing I could understand," Shadow finally replied and technically, that wasn't a lie. "Are you okay now?"

"…yeah. I should think so. That day was pretty rough…" Sonic tried a lop-sided smile, disentangling his limbs and then pulling the bed cloth over his legs again. "My subconscious must have been messing around with me."

"Then tell your subconscious if it tries that again we'll leave it behind in this crazed dimension. Ready to go back to sleep?"

"Hopefully. Tomorrow we'll go see Black Doom?" Sonic asked, already settling back against the cushions, nightmare apparently truly forgotten.

"Tomorrow we'll see Black Doom." Shadow confirmed. "By now it feels like the _last_ time he attacked Earth, getting to him was easier."

xxx

The morning of their fourth day spent in the paralell universe began like any other.

It said something about your lifestyle if people could write sentences like that about you.

Nevertheless, both hedgehogs were in a rather good mood as they went through their regular grooming – the fact that Shadow had successfully ordered 'spicy sausages' for dinner yesterday night had been an additional help in calming Sonic down, who hoped the chef would take the hint and invent Chili Dogs in this freak world rather soon.

"You finished?" Shadow asked casually, snapping his second glove into place. Sonic nodded, laying the brush aside he'd been using again and then stiffened just slightly as he already felt a hand around his neck, holding him in place while hooking the leash in as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

And it was only because it felt that way to Sonic, too, that now a light blush appeared on his cheeks, almost too faint to be seen.

He wasn't annoyed or embarrassed to be leashed like a pet anymore. Now he was embarrassed that he was _not_ annoyed or embarrassed, and that made next to _no _sense. What to do…?

Shadow still behind him, Sonic tilted his head forward a little, eyes closed and sighed in contemplation. Then, he suddenly turned, a mischievious twinkle in his eyes and yanked the leash still attached to his collar out of Shadow's surprised hands. Crimson eyes widened slightly.

"Wha-?"

"Think you can catch your runaway slave even without the help of Lazar and his guard dogs, Princy?" Sonic grinned, taking a step backwards and swinging the unattached end of the leather band in a circle in the air. There was challenge in every movement of his body.

Shadow smirked. "Oh, you're _on."_

And Sonic's stomach felt like it was filled with warm champagne because he had never, ever heard Shadow sound _playful_ before.

But then he was already off, dodging the first ambitious swipe of Shadow's arm as he tried to grasp the leash dangling from his hand. Sonic leaned backwards, grinning only broader, then dodged sideways and twisted himself gracefully out of reach. The growl in the black one's throat now only sounded more amused as he pursued, the blue lithe body dancing around him, teasing.

"Come now, Shads…" Sonic commented from where he was leaning against a wall lazily, both arms crossed in front of his chest, "That royal life making you soft?"

Shadow dashed forward. Sonic laughed, pushed off and evaded capture once more. They both knew the blue hedgehog was playing a losing game – the unspoken rule was that the room would not be left and the 36 sqm of the Prince's dorm were big, but not big enough to really use his speed. Plus, he had the leash still dangling from his neck and it would only be a matter of time until Shadow would manage to grasp it and have Sonic at his mercy once again.

But for now, neither of them seemed to care, either. For Sonic, just a little fun exercise was all he wanted and a playfight/tag-game was right up his alley.

Shadow, although he wasn't grinning quite as broadly while chasing after the elusive blue blur, was enjoying himself more than he would ever admit as well. He was feeling relaxed like he hadn't in years, ever since playing without a care with Maria – for once, all that counted was just grasping a part of that laughing blue joker and he was allowed to touch Sonic without needing a pretense of hurting him…

The blue hedgehog surprised Shadow then with a backflip that took him to the other side of the room and the Ultimate Lifeform chuckled and added a burst of Chaos Energy to propel himself into grabbing range again – except, he had used too much. Sonic had already been dashing forward, attempting to feint and the two collided in their paths, falling backwards onto the bed again. Shadow instinctively grasped the leash.

"_Gotcha_."

Emerald eyes, wide and surprised at first at the tumble, instantly locked onto his, then started sparkling wickedly as they beheld the black form above them, smirking and holding the leash only a few inches from the collar. Black kneeling legs were straddling his torso on the bed and another hand was now pinning his left wrist beside his head.

Sonic raised an eye ridge at his Master in amused interest.

"So, Shadow…now that you've caught me, what are you gonna do?"

And Shadow could feel a heat rising within him, a sudden desire to just _take_ the blue form there and then, kiss him, smell him, taste him, hold him in his arms. He leaned in just a little bit closer, gauging Sonic's reaction, whose grin only turned into a smile, whose chest only started heaving more raggedly…

"MY PRINCE! BREAKFAST!"

And it was at that point that Jet the Hawk had never been in greater mortal danger.

xxx

"Hello? Station Square Police Department? Yeah, I'm calling because of a missing person. Or maybe runaway person. Person_s_. Uhm. A description…eh, well, one of them looks like Sonic the Hedgehog. Maybe it _is_ Sonic the Hedgehog, but he lost weight, and possibly his sanity. Can people lose twenty pounds in three days? Tails says not without amputation. Errm…the other one? What other - oh yes! The other one looks like Shadow the Hedgehog, except no feet…I mean _shoes_. They're both running very fast, but very slow for them. Do you understand? Sonic, or at least, the blue one, is also wearing a dog collar and runs alternatively to and from Shadow. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. My address? Why do you need my – oh, okay. My name is Knuckles the Echidna and I live in the Hidden Palace on a Flying Island…"

There was a click.

Knuckles, receiver still in his hand, looked at Tails, who had headdesked about ten seconds ago.

"Huh. I think we have to hunt them down ourselves, kid. Is this surface police _always_ so unhelpful?"

xxx

"Well, there you have it. The _only_ thing I'm doing to you is feeding you," Shadow commented with a wry smile some time later as Sonic was just busy polishing off the last bits of a pear. He shrugged.

"Yesterday, you dequilled me."

"And was that so bad? _Especially_ considering the alternative."

"Mmm...maybe not." Sonic moved his shoulders a bit, his back still feeling strange. Lighter. More airy. Almost bare, even if he knew that it was still more than enough covered by spines. Still, it made him feel a little bit…more defenseless?

But even that he could live with, now. Shadow wouldn't hurt him, right? And if Jet or that white freak tried any more moves, Sonic felt that he wouldn't even need a single spin-dash to take them out.

_Yeah, a single bucket of cold water would probably suffice, _Sonic thought, adding a mental snort. _Pervs. _

His sarcastic commentary was cut short though, as at this point the leash snapped into his collar and Shadow pulled, forcing him up.

"Come, now. We have a date with Black Doom."

"Right. Otherwise when we get back, things could have _really_ gotten out of hand, or something."

_To be continued..._


	15. A Walk in the Park

**Chapter 14: A Walk in the Park**

It was another lengthy walk to Black Doom's throne room and both hedgehogs were now seized by an air of eagerness. After three days of no success in finding that Emerald, getting close to the guy who had to have it was thrilling.

Shadow also noticed that Sonic now accepted the leash a lot easier and more natural, not straining against it anymore, even if the energy and cockiness he still radiated let the black hedgehog inwardly headdesk whenever another disapproving noble went past. A foot-tapping, humming, grinning, whistling slave that had a running commentary on the general level of silliness and lack of taste of the surrounding décor, did _not_ give the impression desired.

When the door of their destination came in sight, though, Shadow's steps became more hesitant until he finally stopped, thereby also forcing Sonic to hold, who cocked an eye ridge.

"Hey, what's up? Don't you wanna go inside?"

Shadow shook his head. "I think it's better if you wait outside."

"Huh? Why?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms and once again showing that the concept of simply obeying and not asking questions probably could not have been hammered into his head if you used a demolition ball.

"Because I'm not sure if it is such a good idea if Black Doom sees you like this, obviously unbroken. There is a good chance we get that Emerald right now, but if for some reason that doesn't work out, then I don't want him to take you away from me, because that would make everything so much harder. Killing the guards and all that."

Sonic blinked for a moment, not sure whether Shadow had just made an actual quip. Then he gave a small smile.

"Well...okay. But if there is some action starting up in there and you try to take the Emerald by force, then you shout, right? 'cause I want a piece of a good fight right now."

Shadow smirked lightly. "Deal. Even if I'm hoping that I can just Chaos Control out of there as soon as Doom lets me hold that Emerald, grab you, and go home."

Sonic shrugged. "I hope not. Getting rescued is not really my style, I'm more of a DIY type, y'know?"

"Yes, I know. _Tool Time_ springs to mind in your case," Shadow simply finished their conversation, again tying Sonic to another ring in the wall opposite the doors leading into the throne room. "If you hear any shouts, tear loose. Otherwise, _please_ behave. And I can't believe I'm saying this." The black hedgehog shook his head again, turning around and leaving Sonic, who was already sitting down in an attempt to get comfortable, behind.

xxx

"Ah, Shadow! I wanted to talk to you!"

"I am pleased to hear that...father."

_Chaos,__ this is awkward. _

Trying not to let it show how much this weirded him out, Shadow nevertheless kept his face neutral and as friendly as he dared, hoping he was emulating the foreign Prince well enough. Black Doom was perched on his throne in a strange mixture of floating and sitting, but besides that, the huge hall, decorated with carpets on the walls similar to the robe the alien dictator wore and tiled with dark marble, was empty. There was also a smaller version of the jagged, rich in tribal-like carvings, King's seat to Black Doom's side and Shadow suddenly hoped with dread that his "father" didn't expect him to join him there for the day.

"Will you hear me out first, though?" the black hedgehog asked, wondering whether it was really worth the trouble and whether a direct assault might not be quicker and more successful.

"I shall. Speak, Shadow. Is it about your new property?"

"Hmm? Oh no, Sonic is behaving perfectly," the Ultimate Lifeform lied, hoping Lazar hadn't already contradicted that statement somewhat, "But I had heard of a strange gem being found in the dungeon. I am intrigued and was hoping I could see it."

_I am hoping an awful lot lately. _

Black Doom was silent for a while and Shadow wondered whether he had imagined the slight narrowing of his three lava-like eyes, but then the booming voice of the alien King spoke again as if nothing had happened.

"So you have heard of that, have you? And an intriguing gem it is indeed – so intriguing that I have taken it to the city for inspection."

_Oh CHAOS dammit.  
_

"Your Majesty? I'm terribly sorry, but the lady is getting impatient," Greytail suddenly announced, speaking through a slit in the small side door he had just opened, interrupting Shadow's mental tirade of curse words for a moment.

Black Doom nodded absently, waving the cat away. "Yes. We shall be ready in a moment. That is what I wanted to talk to you about, Shadow."

"Yes, father, but could you just tell me _where _you have sent the Em- the _gem_ stone, I mean? I would like to know who in our kingdom can conduct such an investigation."

Black Doom gave an odd grimace that might have been a twitch of the lips on a humanoid face. "So interested in that gem. Interesting. But I can not tell you, Shadow, for the information has to remain a secret. Who knows who might hear, otherwise? But now listen to me. If it sets you at ease, the stone will be in the castle again the day after tomorrow."

Shadow nodded, frustrated but not showing it. A whole two days yet to spend in bizarro world...

"Shadow, it is time for you to procreate."

The Ultimate Lifeform looked at the King. A little voice in his head reminded him that if Sonic had heard that bit just now, he would be rolling around on the floor laughing at the black hedgehog's expression. As it was, Shadow only managed to blink.

"..._what_?"

"We have talked about this before. I know you prefer to spend your time with your various bed slaves, but not only you will need a _female _to continue our line, but I will also not allow her to be of slave-stead."

"Ah."

"I have arranged a princess for you to meet. Even if you do not wish to make her your partner, you will not displease her in any way, as diplomatic alliances with her mother Queen Blaze are still needed...yet."

"Ah."

"Spend the day with her, take a walk in the garden or whatever you wish. Now let me introduce you to Lady Amy," Black Doom rumbled, before turning to the side doors again and adding in a louder growl: "Please meet my son Shadow, Princess of Queen Blaze's realm!"

"Ah-_wha_?"

At that moment the doors opened and Shadow took a reflexive step back. Out swanned none other than the pink female that in their dimension always claimed to be Sonic's girlfriend to the point where the blue hedgehog was more afraid of her than of Robotnik. She was dressed in a long, silver satin gown and adorned with all kinds of jewelery, but Shadow only cared for that in the respect that it hopefully would hinder her from chasing after him when he ran.

"I am pleased to meet you, my Prince!" She had a melodious voice, though and was clearly a bit more restrained and mature than the version he knew from Mobius. Royal upbringing must have helped a little, he supposed. She walked over to him in tiny, graceful steps and then extended her hand in a motion that let the black hedgehog's stomach turn over.

_Oh please, not this. _

But he could feel the gaze of Black Doom intensify ever so slightly on his shoulders and then, there was no choice. Gingerly, he took the proffered, silvery-gloved hand and brushed his lips over it ever so slightly, wishing that he had never, ever set foot into the throne room and instead ran away with Sonic on the very first day they came here.

"Shall we take a stroll on the grounds, perhaps?" Amy asked. "We could get to know each other better." It was followed by a giggle that sounded exactly like her red-clothed counterpart, and it was then that Shadow knew there was no upbringing that could really cover a real Amy up.

"Yeah. Let's," he managed without much enthusiasm and awkwardly took her hand, leading the pink hedgehog out of the throne room.

At least the look on a leashed Sonic's face when the doors opened was worth it.

xxx

"Hmm. And you're sure this isn't another ploy of Robotnik's?"

"And the doctor would have wanted a frightened Sonic on all fours pressing himself against Shadow's legs...why?"

Knuckles looked at Rouge when he asked that question, both of them having finally cornered the two runaway hedgehogs in an alley. When 'Shadow' snarled and set a foot on an unresisting Sonic's back, as if daring them to touch his property, the Guardian of Angel Island was just glad that Tails wasn't here and so would hopefully be saved from trauma.

xxx

"Oooooh, what is _that?_!" Amy squealed immediately, apparently not very royal anymore as soon as any adults were out of sight. Her hands were clasped in front of her chest, while Sonic had jumped up in panic, his back to the wall and breathing rapidly where the leash had hindered him from a sudden escape.

"That's...that's Sonic..." Shadow managed weakly, before adding a bit stronger, perhaps to settle to question of ownership before Amy got any ideas, "..._my _slave."

"He looks so _cute!_ Where did you find a blue one like him?" the girl enquired giddily, reaching out to grasp Sonic's wrist, stretch out his arm and touch his shoulder where fawn turned to azure. It was just a little bit odd, but just as Amy had chosen to refer to Sonic as an object rather than a person, she obviously didn't find it necessary to ask him whether she could just start grabbing him.

Shadow stepped in. "My father imported him from Christmas Island. Please don't touch him, he's a bit shy."

The following kick from a sneaker against his shin was so fast that Amy didn't see it, and Shadow masked any pain on his face so it went unnoticed.

"Can we take him for a walk in the garden, Prince Shadow? Please?"

"Uh...sure..."

_Would it disturb royal alliances if I tied their princess up in a closet somewhere?_

"Oh, he is beautiful..." the pink hedgehog whispered as Shadow untied a fidgety Sonic (who was now beginning to blush under her stare) from the ring, still unable to take her eyes off the supposed slave. The stand-in Prince couldn't help but notice that his unwilling pet now seemed more tempted to run than ever.

"He is indeed," Shadow agreed, and, hoping that the outside would maybe calm Sonic a bit, continued: "Don't you want to see him in daylight?", offering an arm to Amy at the same time. He was rather calculating on the fact that if he managed to make it a nice day for the girl, Black Doom might be a bit more amiable to his requests as well when he saw the "Prince" was making an effort for the kingdom.

"Can I hold him while we walk?"

However, Amy was _pushing_ it.

Shadow's eye ridges went up just a bit when he glanced the horrified, wide-eyed stare of his blue-furred slave as soon as the words were uttered. Sonic hadn't spoken since the pink Armageddon known as "Amy" had surprised them, but his current expression left all words unnecessary. Shadow hadn't yet seen Sonic plead for anything, but he was pretty sure this was a first.

_Please don't give me to her. Please don't give me to her. Please don't-_

"If you wish, mylady."

_I hate you, Shadow. I really do. _

_xxx_

They reached the grounds after only a short while, Shadow opening the door and standing aside so Amy could proceed through with Sonic in tow.

The hero of Mobius currently wished he could just die.

Sonic was mostly staring at the ground now, his face burning hotly in humiliation. He was the captive of Amy. This was like his worst nightmare come true. Sure, she wasn't _doing_ anything to him like Lazar (or a certain dingo) had tried to, but he honestly didn't care. He just wanted to be as far away from this place as possible and the choker to which he'd gotten used to now felt as restrictive and uncomfortable as on the very first day. When he was dragged past Shadow holding the door open, Sonic shot his supposed Master a look and crimson eyes widened subtly. The glance from blazing emerald had been accusing, of course...but also disappointed and somehow..._hurt?_

It took the black hedgehog a few seconds to blink and recover from that passing gaze, and then he hurriedly stepped up next to Amy. Sonic at the moment looked utterly miserable. Ears drooping, feet dragging, his hands clutched behind his back and shoulders hunched up with his tail almost between his legs, he was the picture of a prisoner being led to his execution, rose bushes lining the pathway or not.

And Shadow felt _guilty._ Which was ridiculous, really. They were just playing their parts, and Sonic had been through much worse than that.

_But she wants to own him, while he's MINE. And that's the problem._

._..am I getting a trifle possessive? _

Shadow wondered while falling into step with them again, Sonic now turning his nose up as he tried to walk next to him, like a cat insulted by their owner abandoning them for two weeks of holiday. Shadow gave an exasperated huff under his breath, but the blue hedgehog just reacted by changing sides with the restricted freedom that the leash allowed, so Amy was walking in between them again. Shadow noticed that his ears and tail had perked up again, obviously showing that ego had once again won over hurt.

"So, where did your father purchase him exactly? And how has he been groomed, so far?"

"Errr..."

The next two hours of slow ambling through the park (that looked like it had been designed by Munch for a Halloween contest) were spent with increasingly curious questions by the princess and very imaginative story-telling on the Ultimate Lifeform's part, who tried to remember as much as he could from the ownership papers they'd studied and bridging the vast gaps with tales you'd usually only hear in a country pub after your conversation partner has had his fourth barrel of Lager.

"And the shoes?"

"Are red because I wanted them to match his collar but didn't desire him to have too much clothing. And you already asked that question." Shadow had trouble keeping the annoyance out of his voice. Amy had been doing nothing but enquire about Sonic, who was now sitting rather morosely at their feet where they had alighted onto a bench that only offered space for two. He still had his back turned to Shadow, though.

"Oh yes, of course, silly me!" Amy giggled, jiggling the leash and the black hedgehog thought he could almost _hear_ Sonic's eye twitch. There was no doubt that if it hadn't been a friend's double but a random stranger, the blue hero would have snapped hours ago. As it was, Sonic was fortunately used to be patient and long-suffering with Amy, so no blood had yet been shed and all pink quills were still where they belonged (instead of scattered in various parts of the park, a vision Shadow found increasingly enjoyable).

"But, say...I know you said he was shy, but can I pet him _now?_ He should have gotten used to me, and after all he _is_ a pleasure slave..." the princess asked at that point, not waiting for an answer but already reaching out and burrowing her hand in a surprised and fliching Sonic's headfur, then suddenly yelping and yanking back her arm with an alarmed expression.

"OW! He _cut_ me!" she wailed, holding up her index fingertip where a single drop of blood marred the peach fur. Sonic had whirled around at her shriek, but calmed down again as he saw the damage was superficial.

"Yes. His spines are sharp," Shadow informed the girl currently suckling her finger and frowning.

"Then why on earth haven't you had them blunted yet?" she asked, looking at Shadow plaintively, apparently not noticing the slight widening of his eyes or the sucking intake of breath from Sonic.

Blunting of spines. The momentarily leashed hero of Mobius couldn't believe it. It was the most humiliating practice possible in hedgehog culture - similar to a human "witch" being stripped and shaved of her head hair in medieval ages, or a public castration - and yet Amy was suggesting it with a nonchalance that could only mean it was commonly used on hedgehog slaves. Sonic shivered.

_Living here is like watching a horror movie on a loop, only the thing getting worse. And there isn't even any popcorn.  
_

Shadow merely smirked. "I like them that way."

Amy's mouth formed a very small, silent 'o'.

"But...isn't he gonna hurt you?"

The black hedgehog shrugged, before standing up. "He knows not to." The last bit was delivered with just a small, meaningful glance into emerald-green eyes, and an exaggerated look towards his knee, still sore from Sonic's kick the day before. The blue hedgehog merely retaliated with an offended glance of his own, directed at the leash Amy still held, and a crossing of arms before turning away again. Shadow frowned, before giving a quick, fake smile to Amy, hoping the Princess wasn't catching on just how 'obedient' the supposed slave really was. Luckily, her mind seemed to be elsewhere already.

"Do you want some chocolates?"

"No, thank you."

"Can I feed Sonic some chocolates?"

The black hedgehog rolled his eyes as the endless questioning began again when they were walking once more. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

To his surprise, Amy gave another giggle, waving her hand in a jokingly dismissive manner. "Oh, Shadow! Stop fooling around with me - everybody knows slaves don't _think_, so how should I ask him anything?"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged a look. Then the blue hero rapidly turned his head away again as he remembered that he was supposed to be insulted and the Ultimate Lifeform had the serious urge to run his hand across his face. "Yes. Of course. What was I thinking?"

"Yes, indeed." Amy smiled and nodded. "So, does he eat chocolate? And can I hand-feed him?"

There was a brief moment of silence while that question sunk in. Sonic shot Shadow a look that was both a warning, a promise of another kick if the black hedgehog decided to give the wrong answer here, and a definite hint of panic.

And Shadow couldn't help but grin.

"Well, unfortunately, no..." - he waited until his supposed slave had relaxed the tiniest bit - "I'm afraid he only accepts hand-feeding from his Master."

"Oh, really? Then please, give it to him, I'm sure it will make an adorable picture!" Amy clapped her hands in delight, before thrusting her satin bag with the little chocolates out to the stand-in Prince. Shadow nodded, took one and held it out on a flat hand at chest height.

The expression of Sonic at this point was as incredulous as it was priceless.

"Come on. Eat it," Shadow smirked, looking straight into the eyes of his pretend slave, the chocolate sitting on his gloved hand like a challenge.

_You snubbed me the entire day, hedgehog. Now come on and bow your head. _

The narrowing emerald eyes of Sonic only made Shadow smirk more devilishly as the blue hedgehog made it clear he knew his dark counterpart wanted to humiliate him a bit for fun.

"Come here, now. Be a good pet."

Shadow didn't deny he rather enjoyed seeing Sonic forced to lower his head with reluctance.

If he had seen the sudden devious sparkle in his eyes, though, he probably wouldn't have been surprised when Sonic then proceeded to bite into his skin right after whisking away the chocolate.

Black eye ridges shot up at the sudden sharp pain, and Sonic twisted his head sideways ever so lazily, grinning up at his supposed Master where small hedgehog incisors held glove, skin and flesh still trapped between their points. Shadow pressed his lips together instead of hissing with the pain, making Sonic chuckle and releasing him, even when a crimson death glare was sent his way.

Shadow balled the injured fist to suppress the pain, his gaze trying to scorch Sonic on the spot, who just stared right back, and looking ever so smug. It rather amused Shadow on some other level, even if he refused to show it. A small, timid cough alerted them to the presence of the third hedgehog in the park. Amy looked rather taken aback.

"Did he just..._bite_ you?"

Shadow merely shrugged. "He's not fully broken yet."

"Is...is that so?" The girl asked somewhat weakly at that, suddenly looking a bit uncomfortable around Sonic. "In that case...maybe you want to hold him again?" she offered, holding the leash out to Shadow, who took it without hesitation. "If you wish."

The moment the leash passed hands, Sonic felt rather strange. The awkward sensation seemed to be gone within a second - while being held by Amy had just given him the urge to run, being held by Shadow just felt...right. He couldn't word it any other way. He hadn't felt that way before, but after being led by somebody else, this was all he could think of now that it was Shadow again.

_Strange, _he mused_, how much our relationship changed. _The kind of playful teasing that had just been going on, when somehow Sonic knew even Shadow's glares were now different and much less serious than they had been before, the little battle of dominance that he didn't even mind losing at times - it was almost..._affectionate. _

And even while Amy wanted to end their walk rather quickly after finding out that Sonic was basically a half-tamed buzzsaw, the last look that both Master and slave exchanged, a small smug smile and a sarcastic snort, told both of them that _they _wouldn't have minded staying out longer at all.

_To be continued..._


	16. Just Say The Word

**Chapter 15: Just Say the Word**

"Lady Amy looked...disconcerted."

"I fulfilled her every whim. I don't know what could have possibly upset her," Shadow lied where he looked up at his 'father'. "Maybe something she ate."

Black Doom grunted, fortunately concealing the quiet snort from Sonic, who was kneeling next to Shadow as he had insisted on coming in with him. "I can already see that finding you a bride will not be the easiest task of mine. However, maybe we will be more successful at the dinner."

"Dinner?" Shadow asked, trying hard not to let the annoyance he was feeling creep into his voice. It sounded like yet another royal business that was taking up his time while he was trying to find the Emerald.

"Yes. Since King Acorn is continuing to doubt that our slaves are mere non-sentients, I have invited him and his daughter to a cordial dinner to be held in two days from now. I hope I will be able to win his allegiance - now that the Prince of Echidnas has escaped our grasp, more important than ever. It would be convenient if you and the princess Acorn would get along well. _Also,_" he added, his tone suddenly a lot more menacing, "seeing that the presentation of the slaves that evening will be the most important part in convincing the Acorn imbecile of their mindlessness, I will personally kill every single one of them that looks like it could ruin the event by acting up. That means _especially_ your toy."

"Hm. Sounds like the ramifications of disobedience will be severe."

Next to him, Sonic suddenly choked violently and had to cover his mouth with his hands as he tried to hide his laughter. Shadow was quite sure he hadn't imagined the hissed 'Are you _trying_ to get me killed, faker?' either.

"They will be indeed," Black Doom frowned, wondering why he was suddenly feeling like he was being made fun of behind his back. "Nevertheless, I want you to know and prepare for the occasion. Now leave."

"Yes, father." Inclining his head in a mock-respectful manner, Shadow dragged Sonic up by his neck and left the room as quickly as he could.

xxx

"Heh. Nothing like a bit of transdimensional jokes." Sonic grinned as the door closed behind them, stretching himself after being stiff from kneeling on the ground. "Now, can you take me off this leash?"

"What is it you want _now_?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Shads, I've been collared for hours now. Sonic the Hedgehog? Fastest thing alive, famous for never standing still? Ring a bell?"

"...you're going to cause trouble."

"I will cause _more_ trouble, and that in a second, if I'm not untied in the same time period. Shads, you handed me over to _Amy._ Be glad I let you off with just one bite." The azure hedgehog crossed his arms, looking down at the piece of leather dangling from his neck and back to Shadow with a prompting glance. "Well?"

Sighing, the Ultimate Lifeform first looked around whether anybody was watching them, then dragged a surprised Sonic into an empty side corridor, where he proceeded to work on the collar. "Fine. But first, we need to work out what to do about that Emerald."

"Okay. So, we have no clue where it is, right?"

"Wrong as always, my dear Watson." Shadow smirked, for some reason taking some pleasure in the way Sonic rubbed his neck a little bit awkwardly after being released for a few hours again.

"My dear what?"

"Oh, forget it. What I _meant,_ you illiterate, is that the Emerald has to be somewhere reasonably close to the castle. Black Doom only took a night's journey to go there and return, which means he might not even have left the city. That is where we can search before it comes back the day after tomorrow anyway."

Sonic nodded. "Meaning, we're actually gonna leave this dunghole for once? Sweet."

"Yes. I suggest tomorrow, though. Today is almost over, and I don't think we can stay away for more than a daytrip without arousing some suspicion. Seeing as he has his eyes on _you_ anyway, we should be extra careful."

"I just can't do anything right for you, can I?"

The lack of humour in Sonic's tone made Shadow look up. The blue hero's face was emotionless as he watched his supposed Master's face, but the black hedgehog wondered if there wasn't just a hint of sadness behind those usually sparkling green eyes...was Sonic actually _hurt_ by Shadow's standard sarcastic comments? But they were _always_ bickering, weren't they? Shadow just took it in stride, not used to anything else from any others after Maria had died. If anything, sudden _kindness _would have put him off. Then again, Shadow mused, Sonic was somebody people _liked_. He was used to being a hero, and complimented, and admired and...loved.

Not looked down upon and treated like a pet or a slave by everybody except the one person who knew better - _and when even I don't have anything else for him than abrasive words, is he taking it...to heart? _And now that he thought of it, Sonic _had_ complimented him on several occasions - his acting, his reasoning concerning possible locations of the goddamned Emerald and his resourcefulness concerning their charade. But when Sonic had found vital clues, had acted as best as he could even when he would have so much rather run away or reduced people to squash instead, Shadow hadn't even mentioned it _once._

"You're...doing well."

"Oh?" Sonic raised an eyebrow at the unexpected compliment, and could already feel the ticklish edge of a smile trying to creep onto his lips. Shadow just looked slightly comical as he stood there, one hand on his hip, the other scratching the back of his head somewhere in his quills, trying not to meet Sonic's eyes at the moment. "Well, thank you. I thought you'd never appreciate my talents." He grinned cockily and made a little show of buffing his fingernails - while wearing gloves, nonetheless - on his chestfur, blowing on them for good measure and then shooting a smug glance at Shadow. When only silence prevailed, though, and the black hedgehog did not try to slip in some ironic or derogatory comment to put him down again, red eyes just serious and glowing at him through the dark of the corridor, Sonic dropped his little act again.

"...you seriously mean it?"

"Yes. I really appreciate what you've done for us so far. I know how hard it is...was. You impress me, Sonic."

"Heh, always happy to please," Sonic replied easily, suddenly also not meeting the gaze of the black hedgehog and instead staring almost bashfully at the floor, reminding himself ridiculously of Tails when his little brother got a compliment from him. The awkward silence lasted for a second longer, Sonic again having the urge to hug Shadow at this point - while the black hedgehog had to force his right hand to stay put, since _he_ wanted to pet the downcast head - before green eyes abruptly snapped up and ended the moment.

"Well, er, thanks, I guess. No worries. See you for dinner?"

"...sure."

And then Sonic was gone, leaving only a flutter of dust, a very awkward Ultimate Lifeform and the fragments of a possible romance scene behind.

xxx

When he was sure that Shadow - or anybody else - was nowwhere near around him anymore, Sonic stopped. Stopped, clenched his fists in front of his chest, a broad grin on his face with his eyes squeezed tightly shut and then, when he truly couldn't contain himself any longer, jumped in the air, punched a wall and bounced around the corner for the sheer joy he was feeling.

He had been able to satisfy Shadow.

He had been able to impress Shadow.

He had been able to _please_ Shadow.

"Oh,_ yeah_!" Sonic shouted again - even if his fist was now feeling slightly sore, but sod it - and couldn't help pumping his arms a bit.

It was weird. Sonic prided himself on being independent. When everybody else was against him, he knew he could still pull through - his spirit the last thing to break, his confidence the the last thing to shatter.

So, opinions of others - well, excluding Tails, anyway - shouldn't matter that much to him. Hadn't mattered that much to him.

So why could Shadow make him feel this happy with only a few words?

Or why that miserable, irritated and disappointed when he had merely given Sonic's leash to Amy a few hours ago?

Sonic sighed.

He _had_ thought he might be in love with Shadow. Had first been able to think that thought when he was rejecting it - tied to the torture bank in the dungeon, assuming the black hedgehog would rip his quills out at any moment.

Instead of caressing him like he did. Sonic _still_ blushed at that recollection.

And now it was there again. The warm bubbling in his stomach that Shadow could ignite in him so easily with only a smile, a few kind words, a playful glint in those otherwise so cold eyes.

Alone, Sonic buried his face in his hands, unsure whether to ram his head against a wall or whether to laugh.

Thousands of fans, including Amy, had thrown themselves to his feet, begging for love. But only after being captured, humiliated and given to his once arch-rival as a toy, he had fallen himself.

Fallen for his Master, and glad to be his pet.

_Chaos help me. I'm in love. _

* * *

_To be continued..._

Shooooort chapter_._ I'm sorry. But the next chapter will be longer and MUCH faster (since it is already written) up. Thank you all so much for your reviews! :D


	17. Escape to the City

**Chapter 16: Escape to the City**

"Ready to go to the city yet?"

"In a minute, Sonic. Same answer like the previous two dozen times you asked," Shadow calmly replied, packing the maps, pencils, a leather bottle, some gold coins he'd found in the Prince's room, an odd thing he thought to be a compass - that had five direction inscribed on it no less - and a fist-sized, polished diamond into a bag he slung over his shoulder.

"Ready to go to the city yet?"

"Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog merely grinned. Even if a part of him was now even more aware of how much the presence of the other sent his heart racing and the blood in his ears pounding, it didn't change an iota of how much amusement he derived from winding Shadow up.

"Just checking. Why are you packing all of this stuff, anyway?"

"The objectory of today is to find the Chaos Emerald, surprisingly. Therefore, I'm packing the essentials needed to navigate in an alien world to us as well as means to bargain with the current owner of the Emerald."

"Yeah, whatever. Can we go _now_?"

Shadow silently counted to ten. In hexadecimal.

"And where did you even get that diamond? Looks like a Chaos Emerald, but doesn't feel like one."

"I raided the Royal Treasury last night after you had run off. We might be able to switch it for the real one, if we find it."

"You did something exciting without me? That's it, not talking to you anymore."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Shadow smirked. "And anyway, I wouldn't have gone there without you if you had even_ turned up._ As it was, you were running around the castle until when, midnight? I was almost asleep when you finally thought of returning."

"Um, yeah." Sonic shrugged with his head tucked in between his shoulders, smiling looking somewhat sheepishly, like a runaway dog that knew it had done something wrong. "Couldn't help it, though, just needed some alone time," he said, that grin flashing from rueful to unconcerned in a matter of seconds, "Amy has a way of not just _invading_ your personal space but virtually poking a flag in it and declaring it her _own_. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to poke a flag into _me_ next."

The laughter hiding underneath his words made it clear that the blue hedgehog was joking, but right now the hero was also oblivious to the hardening of the jaw muscles and the sudden flash of something murderous in his dark counterpart's eyes. When Sonic turned around, happily chattering on, Shadow had himself in check again, though.

_If somebody else tried to claim you, Sonic, I would kill them. _

The Ultimate Lifeform paused.

_Or would I? _

After all, what did he even_ mean_ by that, "claiming" Sonic? The blue hedgehog wasn't really something you could just take with you, like a...Shadow's mind searched for a simile..._like a cabbage head, _he finished and immediately cursed his brain for ruining his dignity even in his own head.

But the thought persisted.

At the moment, Sonic _let_ him be his pretend owner, submitted to the collar and leash and went along with the charades Shadow thought up to keep them both safe.

"-really weird, isn't it? I mean, Knuckles, Jet, Blaze, Black Doom and now Amy. All of them creepily similiar to how they were in our dimension. It kinda bites that Amy was so..._callous_ towards me, though. To me as a slave, I mean. " Sonic was still talking, though sounding more serious now while Shadow stared at him, lost in his own thoughts.

"She was always so compassionate about others, you know? Really had that heart of gold, or at least of some really mushy stuff, that people talk about, couldn't bear to see anyone innocent hurt. That's why I still like her, in our dimension at any rate, when she's not actually chasing me. Or trying to marry me. Or setting a trap to catch me. Or...well, you get the point, anyway." A quick, pained smile here, gone as quickly as it had come. " _This_ Amy...I know she was probably raised to think so, after all I've seen of this whacko world, so I can't really blame her. Even if she suggested to have my spines blunted!"

A faint flush splashed across his cheeks at that notion and Shadow couldn't help feeling his own temperature rise in return. He hadn't really paid much attention, since just the sight of Sonic going through his facial expressions and moving his hands had been enough to mesmerize him.

Claim him...claim this beautiful creature and as his own...oh, how he wished he could. Poke a flag into him, he'd said. But...what if...Sonic would let himself be poked..._penetrated_...by something else? That would mark him as Shadow's own...

"They raise their children to believe slaves aren't even sentient. I don't like this world, Shads. I want to go home." Sonic had finished his monologue, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Shadow looked up in the sudden silence.

"Yes. I mean, of course. Not. Er. That's why we're going to the city now!" He finally garbled past his unobeying tongue, refusing to look flustered as unwanted images of Sonic in the stocks, Sonic chained to the bed, Sonic lying defenseless in his sleep next to him danced across his vision.

The Sonic in front of him raised an eyebrow.

"You constipated or something?"

"No, I'm not!" Shadow snapped, anger helping a little to get himself onto familiar territory again. "I haven't eaten for five days, Sonic. Now tell me how I could _possibly_ be constipated."

Sonic shrugged again. "Beats me. Though you seem to manage it for all of the _other_ 360 days of the year fairly well, so..." He gave another cheeky grin as Shadow's expression visibly darkened, wishing he could put that riding crop to good use at the moment.

"Right, let's cut the flying circus for one moment and let me leash you."

Sonic gave a slight moan at this but did not resist when Shadow grabbed him and hooked the leather piece in, just assumed an air of quiet resignation, not even complaining when Shadow held him shorter than usual.

"Good. We're off."

As soon as they were out of the door, however, Sonic visibly perked up again, ears, tail and spikes straightening and rising up as the whole hedgehog looked forward to escape the castle for a while, and Shadow, looking at his back, immediately had trouble keeping his thoughts on track again.

He wasn't a virgin anymore, far from it. Rouge had seen to that. Admittedly, he had been a _little _bit drunk but the bat was also been the closest thing he'd had to a friend and the only one he had previously permitted to come so close to him. And, after he'd been staying at Club Rouge for a while, one night he had finally given up resisting her advances, had let her push him into bed, had let her...

He recalled the experience as pleasurable, but not particularily exciting. He had never felt the need to go and repeat the exercise with her, afterwards, even if Rouge had been willing. But now, for some reason, Sonic was so much more beautiful to him and so much more enticing...

Shadow briefly wondered whether the blue hedgehog would actually still be a virgin.

_I could...I could be the first. _

Furiously, he shook his head. this was ridiculous. Even though he was starting to admit to himself that he wanted, needed, hell_, loved_ Sonic enough to want to own him, body and soul, there was no indication that the other felt the same way.

"Hey, you don't have to hold me quite so tight, okay?"

Or was there?

Once again, it was a flood of images, Sonic cuddling up to him in the night, shivering blue fur calmed by his hand, a playful grin after Shadow had thrown him onto the bed after a game of tag, that_ look _he had given him when he had purposefully bitten the hand that fed him, smirking up at Shadow in that garden blooming with twisted roses...

"Hello? Mobius to Shadow? Anybody home in Fakerville?"

"Faker_what_?"

"Shadow, you're going in circles."

The black hedgehog blinked. Had he spoken aloud? Did Sonic know what was going through his head and how his thoughts were leading nowhere? Could the blue hedgehog even...emphasize?

"How...how do you know that?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Sonic gave him a long look. When he spoke, he spoke slowly.

"I know that because I can see, Shadow. And we're currently passing the room to our dorm for the third time."

xxx

"We've got to figure out what to do with them," Knuckles said, gravely (if redundantly) to open the session.

"Separate them?" Rouge suggested, looking dubiously at the door behind which 'Sonic' and 'Shadow' were currently locked, one finger put to her lips.

There was a moment of silence as they contemplated that course of action.

Knuckles nodded. "Right. You break that to Shadow."

"No, _you!" _

Tails sighed. Was it just him, or did everybody seem to be a little bit stuck?

xxx

"...I was just testing you."

"Sure you were. And the fact that you're now consulting a map of the palace doesn't throw me off even a little bit." Sonic grinned, his emerald eyes twinkling where Shadow's gaze tried (unsuccessfully) to scorch.

"Slaves are not supposed to talk back to their masters, you know?"

"Yeah, but that only applies when the Master doesn't get lost on the way to his front door," Sonic shot back, openly laughing now and Shadow was for a moment overwhelmed by that wonderful sound before he remembered that there could be about 101 guards overhearing this conversation. Regretfully, he muffled Sonic's mouth with one hand and briefly clamped his other around the throat to cut off his air supply in a warning. To his immense surprise, Sonic didn't start struggling. The black hedgehog had seen how the collared hero had tensed as his arms came up, his fighter's reflexes immediately trying to ward off a possible attack, but then, Sonic had just _relaxed_ in his grip, stopping his laughing and gazing at Shadow expectantly.

"Right. Eh. Just concerned about our pretense here. Let's continue, then. Quietly," Shadow managed, before turning around and striding of quickly, wondering whether he imagined a certain amused gaze in his back. And trying not to remember how soft Sonic's lips had felt underneath his hand.

xxx

"You wish to go to the City, My Prince?" The guard asked, bowing low, but not able to hide his surprised tone. Shadow waited until the rhinoceros had somewhat straightened himself again before he replied.

"Yes. I am not taking any escort with me, if that is what you're wondering. I wish to go alone and anonymous."

"But ssssurely you're not taking thiss ssslave with you, my Prince?"

It was amazing how just a couple of superflous 's' in a sentence now could give both hedgehogs the wish to pull their fur out. Lazar pretended to not notice the mixture of loathing and I-can't-believe-he's-here-_again - _despair that flickered over the Mobian's faces.

"Indeed I am, Lazar. Why would you object?" Shadow asked politely, yet coldly. At the same time, he pulled Sonic a little bit closer, feeling absurdly protective.

"But my Prince, any number of reassonsss. He could run off. He could be _ssstolen_, rarity that hiss colour isss. He could hurt you while there iss nobody who can protect you," the purple lizard reeled off, Shadow wondering whether he had imagined the rather wishful tone in which that last option had been uttered. He sighed.

"Lazar, I told you: Sonic is _broken_." - he yanked at the leash too quickly for a normal eye to see, indicating to his partner that 'broken' did not entail tapping his foot while bored - "He would never hurt me, and I am _very_ much capable of defending my property alone." He said, subtle changes in his stance letting him assume a more menacing air to underline his words.

"That I never quesstioned, my Prince," Lazar said patiently, but held the black hedgehog's gaze without wavering, his subservience slipping. "But why would you take him to the city at all? He iss a _bed_ sslave."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Do I have to justify my actions to you, Lazar?"

"Of coursse not, my Prince. But the rule of your Father iss that ssslaves are never to leave their asssigned areass unlesss there iss an important reassson."

"Well, as it so happens, there is," Shadow replied easily, his mind racing as he tried to think of what on earth it could be. "I need to shop for...special items."

"Ah?" Lazar gave a slow reptilian blink, his tongue flicking briefly as he tried to comprehend. "I am afraid I do not undersstand..."

"Simple," the Ultimate Lifeform shrugged, careful not to meet Sonic's gaze during this explanation or else he would be thrown off track rather quickly, "Since he is my pleasure slave, I wish to buy certain...accessoires. I am taking him with me to see how they fit on and in his body."

Sonic gagged. Lazar didn't so much as nod, letting Shadow wonder what kind of person exactly the real prince must have been if a reply like this didn't even faze the lizard. If anything, he looked disinterested now.

"Iss that sso. Well, in thiss case I wish you successs. Maybe we can incorporate your experience on the market into next week's lesssons when you're focusing on...different matters again," Lazar finished, his tone hinting at just a bit of disapproval on the things Shadow spent his time on instead of learning how to run the country. Of course, if he had known that this particular Shadow wasn't trying to run but rather _flee_ the kingdom in question, he probably would have understood better. As it was, he didn't, and the two impersonators left the castle quite happily.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Hi there! well, once more thanks for that amount of absolutely wonderful reviews - really encourages me to update again and again. :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	18. Different Ways

**Chapter 18: Different Ways**

The castle stood halfway up on a bare mountain, alone and menacing, the city huddled at the foot of the slope, cowering there as if it was as afraid of its King as of the unseen dangers that might lurk behind the borders. Nevertheless, it was a bustling place, the roads that led to and from it each sporting an assembly of oxen- or slave-drawn carts, people on foot, people on horses, people on weird black things and cattle and sheep being herded from one place to another. The two dimension-travelling hedgehogs could see it all from where they had walked from the castle, since the city basically lay at the edge of a huge plain into which the roads vanished. There seemed to be hundreds of houses and huts, marking it clearly as this kingdom's capital. Any walls it might have had at a time appeared to have been swallowed up by the urban sprawl. The only thing likely to be able to stop the expansion might have been the far mountains in the distance.

It wasn't a pretty city, not particularly ugly either, but just...working. In the middle of it, there was a huge, seething, colourful and relentlessly moving mass which Shadow presumed to be the market, individual figures not recognizable from this distance. Sonic's attention was captivated by something else, though.

"Space...so much..._space..."_ the blue hedgehog's expression looked like he'd just seen Heaven. He was almost drooling at the wide expanse of steppe before him and leaning forward ever so slightly, as if he just wanted to plunge right into it. He turned to Shadow.

"Take that leash off me. Please. I need _to run_."

"What? But we have to look for the Emerald!"

Sonic nodded, almost frantically, his eyes pleading now. "Yes, I know Shads, and I promise I will help you later and everything, but now I need to run. Really. Really really bad." He was tugging at the leather bit now, his feet moving restlessly. "I need this," he implored and looked at Shadow with a gaze that said it all.

_If you really love me... _

The black hedgehog sighed. "Fine. BUT!" he raised his voice before the blue hedgehog could start his little happiness dance, "We will meet again. At sundown, at the rock to the east of the city," he said, pointing to the landmark in question, "and you won't just spend your time running around like a maniac but keep an eye out for any Chaos Emeralds of this dimension, understood?"

"Yeah, sure!" Sonic agreed all too happily, and Shadow couldn't help but almost smile at the enthusiasm. With a practiced finger movement, he released his supposed slave, secure that nobody could see them from the castle now.

"We can run together to the city, then separate before we enter and you can have all that plain to yourself. Break a leg of yours and I'll kill you for property damage." Shadow smirked and Sonic chuckled, giddy about this prospect. Shadow shifted his stance slightly, shifting his feet apart. "Ready?"

Sonic was. He, and one second later Shadow, took off like a storm unleashed. The Sonic Boom erupted across the plains and mountains before the blue hedgehog had even taken two steps and now he was only accelerating, grinning with bliss. Shadow followed him easily, the soft swishing noise of his Chaos skates turning into a ferocious hissing as he siphoned power into them like he hadn't for days. Landscape became a blur and the only constant was Sonic next to him, both of them moving at velocities only they could, both of them being rippled through by forces of acceleration and gravity, both of them sharing the thrill of absolute speed...

Shadow glanced over quickly at his pretend pet and his lips curved upward slightly as he watched Sonic. The hedgehog was in complete abandon, doing what he was born to do, at one with the elements and himself. His fur was ruffled by the sonic winds and his muscles pumped, the perfectly toned body of a racer streaking through the landscape. Then he glanced over at Shadow and smiled, emerald containing the sheer joy he was feeling and his happiness that Shadow was there to share it.

And Shadow knew, right then, that he wanted to be able to make Sonic feel the same, by himself. Completely engulfed by pleasure. Forgetting the rest of the world. Just him and Shadow.

But then their shared stretch of road was already over and Sonic yelled a quick goodbye before the black hedgehog was already alone, rushing into the unknown city.

xxx

Muscles pumping. Adrenaline dancing in his veins, his steps and the roaring of the sonic wind an endless symphony that his body sang, Sonic couldn't be happier, collar on him or no. Time lost its meaning as he rushed on through the plains, forests, rocky territories and tundras, the sun wandering across the sky as early morning turned into midday already. It had probably been more than four hours when Sonic finally slowed to a halt in one of the larger woods he had encountered, feeling thoroughly at ease with the world now. His chest still heaving slightly from the exertion, as he made his way with careful, ambling steps through the bush and sun-dappled grass underneath the tall trees, enjoying the beauty of untouched nature that he had been deprived of for days. He had also spent the last thirty minutes carefully washing himself in a creek.

It was, of course, quite the surprise for him when the next thing that happened was a lasso ensnaring both his arms to his sides.

xxx

Shadow straightened himself in the side alley where he had managed to stop and took a few seconds to brush himself off and regain some sense of composure. Nobody had recognized him rush into the city due to the speed at which he had been going, and, thanks to a few frantic dodging manoeuvers re: carts and pedestrians on Shadow's side, he was pretty sure he hadn't provoked any unwanted attention, either. When he finally left the secluded side street and joined the throngs on the market, crowds parted casually and naturally in front of his stride. They didn't recognize him as the Prince, but the black hedgehog's proud demeanour, groomed appearance and sublime air of danger that clung to him like an invisible sword at his side triggered the assumption he was some sort of noble nonetheless. Black ears swivelled back and forth relentlessly as the Ultimate Lifeform's acute hearing picked up on the conversations around him, intent on listening for anything that might be a clue toward the location of the Emerald.

_"...sold me that barrel of apples for ten gold rings and nearly all of them rotten, can you..." _

_"...not easy to get hands on supplies nowadays with the war looming, but..." _

_"...seen that black hedgie just now, now there's a hottie..." _

Then again, maybe the people conversing here were just plain village idiots.

He passed by various market stalls in the part of the trading place where the more precious wares were sold, but his frown only deepened over time. There was very little in the way of information of what he sought, but instead the air was tense with whisperings of war. Apparently the traders were as nervous as a pack of sheep in a country of wolves and there were rumours that Black Doom already had his armies marching against the Tribe of Echidnas and the borders of Queen Aleena's realm. Shadow also noticed that the weapons' and slaves' sections of the markets where the busiest by far.

The slaves here were just as miserable as the ones he had seen in the castle. Chained onto display like meat on hooks in a butchery, some squirming females even without any clothing to cover themselves, many of them too old or too young to be able to move in their shackles at all, it was enough to make even the strongest feel sick.

But where Sonic would have helped, would have fought, would have done something this very minute to _change _this world that was so very wrong, Shadow merely moved on, his face showing little to no compassion at all.

xxx

"Got him! And it's not a wild either, this one's collared!"

"What is an escaped slave even doing out here?! Pull him in!"

Sonic whirled around at the sound of the voices, facing his two new captors just as the rope binding him ripped apart over his back spines. He took a step backwards, eyes narrowing at the turtle and the weasel across the clearing.

"What just happened? He snapped the rope!" The purple rodent exclaimed angrily, his one big incisor flashing in the sunlight like light glinting off a gun. The tortoise shook his head, while he was already advancing on Sonic.

"Impossible. Your throw must have been shoddily aimed."

"My aim is _perfect, _you idiot!", his partner hissed, "I don't know what it was but I want to examine this one personally after we catch him."

"Whatever, Nack." The turtle shrugged. "It's not as if we would have to provide huge amounts of cannon fodder slaves for the impending war and were already on a tight schedule or something, right?"

"Shut it. This one's going to be mine. HEY!" The weasel called Nack cried suddenly as Sonic had decided to take advantage of their bickering and had turned tail to run. Not too fast, mind you. He was keeping well below a hundredth of his possible speed and could hear the two seeming slave-hunters crashing through the foliage behind him, spotting his bright azure coat easily amid the forest green. Sonic jogged along the trail he had taken earlier, dodged past a few trees that seemed familiar, pretty much retracing his exact steps up onto a certain spot where he suddenly _leapt..._

And only seconds later heard the satisfying noise of two Sapients tumbling headfirst into the same well-concealed mud ditch that he had fallen into earlier already and spent approximately thirty minutes in the creek for cleaning afterwards. It would take these two probably some time to get out of this one.

The blue hero allowed himself a chuckle at the hapless hunters' expense, but then grew more serious as he continued his way through the forest back to where he had seen them first.

Slave hunters. Even out here. It would only be logical to assume that where there were two, there should be a bigger party around, capturing either runaways like him _- even though I'm not a runaway at all, but a dimension-traveller roped into this_, Sonic reminded himself hurriedly - or maybe even hunting others..."wilds", as they had called them. The blue hedgehog stopped his stride in contemplation as he rubbed his chin and mulled over what he should do now.

Hunting for the Emerald, or any Emerald, was of course an option and what he had told Shadow that he would do. However, even during all of his running excercise during the morning, he hadn't even sensed only the faintest trickle of Chaos Energy, so he wasn't really sure whether there would be any point. On the other hand, he had probably the weasel's and turtle's cronies bumbling through the forest, making life miserable for everyone they came across and positively begging for someone to stop them.

Blue ears suddenly pricked up as Sonic imagined he had just heard the faintest cry of a child.

It didn't even take a second for a hero's heart to make the decision.

_To be continued..._


	19. Belonging to Him

**Chapter 19: Belonging to Him  
**

Most people who knew him a little would probably agree that Sonic the Hedgehog could sometimes be a chatterbox, rather hot-headed and/or just that little bit too quick to jump into action.

However, there were also those who knew him better. And _they_ would tell you that it was only when Sonic was silent he was truly angry and at his most dangerous.

The collared hero had just entered what he presumed to be the back part of the slave hunters' camp. Noone was about - save for those in the cages. Sonic was walking through the rows and rows of boxes and steel contraptions in a sort of disbelieving daze, seconds seeming like hours to him as he took the scene in its entirety. There was...everything. Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, even a whole line of bees chained up in a row. Most of them, like the horse in the kennel closest to him, seemed to look straight through him with the same gaze the other slaves in the castle had given him, dismissing him as yet just another already tamed pet. Others, like the adolescent bear couple, apparently yet not quite beaten into submission, let confusion show on their faces, Sonic's upright stance and alert eyes not matching up with his perceived slave status.

The camp was deathly silent. None of the prisoners had yet said anything, as if an atmosphere of fear was gagging their throats and muffling any sound like poisonous miasma. Just the rustling of the trees, sounds of the feral birds and his own breathing could assure Sonic that he hadn't gone deaf. He tried to say something, but for a moment his tongue wouldn't obey him. Truth to tell, he didn't _know_ what to say. Wherever he looked, there seemed to be a new abomination. An adult lion locked in stocks, around him lying bloodied remnants of his torn-out mane, his spirit obviously broken if the empty expression in his gaze was anything to go by. A whole cage of ravens, their wings clipped, never to regrow. A gagged badger who seemed to be in pain. A whole group of prisoners having trouble breathing while encased in tight, heavy metal bands around their necks, apparently to make them get used to the feeling of having a collar, unlike Sonic's own of which he could have gotten rid of with a kitchen knife, if desperate.

He could hear his own breath rasping in his throat now. This had to end. Now.

Then again the whimpering sound caught his attention and his head flew around to the source of the noise, a couple quick steps leading him behind the biggest cage which held the bears. And it was then that he saw the captured children and the last traces of mercy vanished from his mind. None of them could have been older than five.

"What the - they abducted _kids_!" Sonic gasped, the young sapients immediately trying to shy away from him, a few of them crying out in fear, giving Sonic a very accurate idea of how the slave traders must have treated them. It was a large box, coming up to his chest height, like a psychotic parody of a playpen. Inside, the children had their arms bound tightly to their chests and their feet chained together, so even the ones trying to seek shelter behind others could only crawl. Suddenly, though, Sonic's eyes widened. There was one pair of eyes that returned his stare steadily, even though its owner had a hard time stopping his body from trembling in absolute terror. But the eyes never left his own, purple irises glaring fiercely at him from a a small red-furred face, bravado and pride even in the face of deathly fear.

Sonic thought that he had just layed eyes on the first echidna youngling he had ever seen.

His face an expression of wide-eyed wonder, the blue hedgehog slowly extended a hand downwards to the kid, as if to touch him to see whether this could actually be real. Something like a growl issued from the little echidna at that, staring at Sonic's hand venomously like the hedgehog was trying to feed him poison.

"Hey, little buddy, no need to worry. It's okay, I'll get you of here..." Sonic muttered in the soothing voice he usually adapted when talking to recent victims of Robotnik. "No need to - _OW_! What the-!" Yelping, the collared hero reared backwards, shaking his hand that had so recently been bitten.

"Honestly, what is _wrong _with you echidnas, do all of you have some paranoia issue or is that just Knux and you?!" He asked slightly sourly as soon as the immediate pain had receded, giving the small bundle of spines an exasperated look. The echidna kid was now trembling even more, but was also snarling. "I can't believe they even managed to keep you here without their hands being ripped off, I wonder-" he started, but then shut up immediately. It had been less obvious because of the scarlet coat of the youngling, but now that he was looking at him more intently, Sonic clearly saw the bloody streaks across the small frame of his body.

They had not just been taking kids prisoner. They had been _whipping _them.

Then the bushes parted as Fiona the Fox, an ordinary slave huntress had just picked the worst moment possible to venture from the main part of their jungle camp to see what all that noise in the back was about.

xxx

Shadow was walking slowly through the market. No amount of questioning, bargaining with, listening in on (and occasionally simply terrifying) people had yet yielded _any_ results concerning buyable Chaos Emeralds. Wherever Black Doom had brought the Emerald to, it seemed indeed a very secure location, given that Shadow also could not feel the slightest hint that a power gem was closeby. It also seemed that Sonic had had similiarly bad luck, because otherwise the hedgehog would already have Chaos Controlled back to Shadow, wouldn't he?

_Then again, it is entirely possible that the lunatic has just gotten himself into trouble instead, _Shadow thought sarcastically. _Wonder whether I'll have to rescue him before the day is over. _

It was at that moment that an entirely new stall, this one selling collars, caught his attention and the Emerald was forgotten for the moment.

_I just hope Sonic can keep out of mayhem for just a few hours without me. Shouldn't be entirely impossible, right?  
_

_xxx_

_Shitshitshit...!!_

Sonic was dodging blows, kicks, grabs, and the occasional whip with practised ease and agility, but the fight wasn't going that great. There were perhaps twenty other Sapients trying to capture/kill him after the fox girl had yelled that 'one of that scum has ecaped' and now the blue hero was trying to take his opponents out without killing them and also without any of the captured anthropomorphs chained down around them coming to harm. His spin-dash was useless if he didn't want to bisect the others and so he was reduced to mere kicks and punches, which weren't his most powerful weapons.

_I SO wish these guys were robots. _

A jackal grabbed his arm from behind and was thrown to the ground with sonic speed as the blue hedgehog twisted in his grasp and turned the action into a throw, only to gasp with pain as another whip lashed across his ear when he hadn't been fast enough to dodge it entirely. Sonic flying-kicked a warthog attempting to come at him next squarely in the chest and used the rebound to bounce in front of the shocked leopard who had held the whip, wrenching it out of her grasp and using the handle to knock her out. Pausing only a moment to flinch at what he'd just done - hitting a girl - he suddenly cried out as a searing pain spread from his shoulder. Sonic whirled around, barely noticing that there was a thin streak of red on his fur when he saw out of the corner of his eye the bolt embedded in the tree next to him. Across the clearing now stood the mud-covered purple weasel that had seen him in the first place, the crossbow still in his hand.

"Back into your cage, scumbag," he snarled, "because next time I won't miss."

But before the weasel could utter another word, a leather-gloved fist dropped onto his head from behind. Meanwhile the fox girl, oblivious to that, tried to land a kick in Sonic's privates while he was distracted and then the number of combattants was suddenly rapidly increasing as a whole horde of echidnas came out of the trees, their leader having knocked Nack out and all joined the fray. Sonic idly wondered whether elsewhere, people's lives were just nice and uncomplicated.

xxx

"Um, guys?" Tails poked his head out of his laboratory into which he had retreated to calm down a little. "Bad news."

"What now?" Asked Knuckles with a tone akin to desperation. Trying to separate Shadow and Sonic had resulted in a bit of a disaster, with the Ultimate Lifeform cursing all of them and their ancestry three generations back in a language that made them wonder whether he had read too much 18th century literature before, and Sonic, once contained in a room alone, merely started begging on his knees, clawing at the closed door like a dog, yelling constantly for his 'Master' and crying. The sight of this had turned even the stomach of the sturdy echidna (who usually wished to see the cocky speedster somewhat humiliated, but this was just disturbing) and by now the hedgehogs were in a room back together. Through the keyhole Rouge had reported that by now Sonic was curled up contentedly at Shadow's feet, occasionally whimpering or purring, depending on whether the black hedgehog kicked or patted him. They had called a psychiatrist to come over, but the Guardian of the Master Emerald by now just really, really wished to be back home with no insane people bothering him anymore.

"According to my readings, the, eh, seventh Chaos Emerald seems to have disappeared. As in, vanished from the face of Mobius," Tails said, rubbing the back of his head worriedly. "And the ambient Chaos Energy is getting somewhat unstable. If we don't do anything about that there could be....er, end of the world, really. Help?"

xxx

The fight was over quickly. In fact, there was only five echidnas and Sonic fighting the rest of the slave hunters, but each of them fought like a berserker and cut down their opponents like strawpuppets. Sonic had just managed to floor the warthog again, this time for good, when he turned around and saw another echidna, iron rings decorating his dreadlocks, about to be attacked from behind. He shouted a warning and the red-furred sapient whirled around to catch the blow from the charging horse in one massive hand - before slapping him so hard across the cheeks that Sonic _heard_ the slave hunter's neck snap.

"Wh-What the hell?! You _killed him_!" he shouted, horrified by the display as well as the stone-cold expression on the warrior's face. It was now that he became swiftly aware that a few of the slave hunters' bodies on the ground weren't just knocked out - limbs at unnatural angles suggested that somebody had done the job thoroughly. In fact, there was nobody left standing except for him and the scarlet-pelted warriors themselves.

"Why did you _do_ that? You could have just knocked him down!" Sonic shouted again, still directed at the elderly male that had just delivered the blow to the horse. The echidna looked at him as if becoming aware of the hedgehog for the first time, then made some strange hand-movement toward him and Sonic suddenly found his arms pinned to his sides for the second time that day, this time by strong hands that could just as easily have been bonds of iron.

"This one still talks. We shall take him prisoner for questioning. Now find the puggle and we will move out," the iron-ringed echidna barked in a harsh voice. Sonic started to struggle.

"Hey! Let me go! I haven't done anything to you! For Chaos' sake, I was fighting on your goddamned side! Let me - _Knuckles_! Man, help me!" the blue hedgehogs eyes had suddenly recognized one of the warriors and indeed the form froze and turned around. The Guardian of Angel Island - or son of the guardian here, Sonic reminded himself - blinked, then inclined his head.

"Is that...you? From the kitchen?"

"Yeah! It's me, Sonic! Tell them to let me go!"Sonic had given up struggling against his captor by now, staring hard at Knuckles. The attention of all echidnas was now focused on the two and Sonic tried hard to get accustomed to the idea that there could be a world with more than a single last echidna in it. There was the one who had killed the horse, a middle-aged warrior with a fur so deep-red it looked like coagulated blood, his eyes a dark colour hard to discern, his frame tall and wiry with protruding veins and sinews. Next to him now stood a more pink than reddish-coloured female, but her expression was no less fierce and far from gentle Tikal. Her dreadlocks were thin and many, swaying gently in the breeze as her ice-coloured eyes tried to lazer holes into Sonic. The third in their party, a young male, bore not many distinguishing marks apart from almost looking a little too chubby and his fur was long on his head, hanging over his eyes like human hair, but was in colour the same as Knuckles. He couldn't see his captor behind him very well (apart from being able to discern that it had to be a very burly and big one) but so far, Sonic noticed, this version of his friend was the only one to bear that white half-moon mark on his chest. However, any appearances mattered very little to him at the moment if he couldn't get them to _not_ take him as prisoner.

Knuckles was now addressing the elderly male who seemed to be the leader. "I don't know what he is doing here but he is the hedgehog that helped me escape in the castle. Let him go."

The other echidna seemed to be reluctant. "He is a marked slave. If he has been serving in the castle, he will be nothing more than a tool of our enemy and should be treated as such. We need to extract what information about black Doom's troops from him that we can."

"What can he possibly know? He's a pet! He shouldn't have free will anymore and he definitely shouldn't be a fighter! You've seen him how he took down these slave hunters!" The girl to his side burst in, eyeing Sonic with suspicion. "I don't trust him...if we let him go he will run back to Black Doom and the next time we see him it will be when he fights against us."

Finally, Knuckles shook his head. "He's no normal slave, I don't think. And as far as I can see there is no alliance between him and the enemy kingdom. He is loyal only to one Master and to him alone," the son of the Guardian said, carefully stepping around Sonic and eyeing him from all angles, the blue hedgehog still bristling with indignation at being called a pet by the girl.

"Who is your Master then, hedgehog?" the old iron-ringed echidna asked, for the first time addressing Sonic directly. There was a moment's pause.

"...I belong to Shadow," Sonic finally said, resisting the urge to bite his lip. As far as ambiguity went, that answer was good. Belonging to somebody could be interpreted in two ways.

"A personal slave of the Crown Prince? I say we take him with us here and now." The girl interjected immediately, crossing her arms.

"No. He gave me freedom. This debt will be repaid." Knuckles stated, his gaze daring anybody to challenge him. "If you take him prisoner now, you will have to fight and defeat me or my honour will be tarnished."

There was a long moment of silence while Knuckles looked from face to face, only the wind ruffling the grass underneath their feet. Then finally the leader inclinced his head the tiniest bit and Sonic felt the grip on his arms loosening.

"Acknowledged. Your debt is hereby repaid. Now let us find the puggle and move out," the dark red echidna said, and the three others disbanded quickly, now scouring the cages looking for something. Sonic rubbed the sides of his arms, turning his gaze to catch Knuckles' eye.

"Thanks, man."

"I was in your debt," the echidna merely replied. "As you can see, I made it back to my people."

"Yeah. Why are you guys here? And...did you really have to _kill_ these slave hunters?"

Violet eyes gave Sonic a long look. "I don't know whether you have noticed it yet, Sonic, but war is imminent. Any day now and it will begin, bringing lots more deaths, on the sides of echidnas and Black Doom's soldiers alike. Also, they committed the crime of harming a puggle. The punishment for this has been death since the dawn of time."

Sonic blinked, trying to process this. "Wait, what? War? As in, troops and cannons and explosions?"

Knuckles gave him a curious expression. "Yes. Seeing as you don't seem to be mindless cattle like most of the other slaves, I would have assumed you would know that? Black Doom is preparing to launch into war with the Tribe of Echidnas, Queen Aleena's realm and possibly the Kingdom of Acorn all simultaneously. He is a madman. There is no way he could possibly win, even if the battle will be fierce. That is why his slave hunters have been roaming the bushes like ants, collecting yet more labourers for factories of weapons and to be turned into fighting cannon fodder. And these guys," he snarled, his eyes narrowing, "have made the mistake of abducting one of _us_."

Sonic nodded slowly. So it wasn't just a question of finding the Emerald and freeing the slaves anymore. Now he would have to do all of that while the ground was exploding beneath his feet. Wonderful.

Then he remembered something.

"Hey, what is actually a 'puggle'?"

"That is the term for an echidna kid. Do you think that's funny?"

"Me? No way," Sonic replied quickly, trying to hide his grin. He couldn't _wait_ to rub that under the real Knuckles' nose."So, you freed the captured people here, huh? What are you gonna do with them? Hopefully not taking_ them_ prisoners, I hope?"

Knuckles shook his head. "No. They're free to leave. We were merely interested in you because you were wearing that collar. Why _are _you doing that, by the way? Letting yourself be...owned?" He asked, trying hard not to let his face betray his disgust at the last word.

The blue hedgehog shrugged. "I...it's hard to explain. But eh, for one, you can see that Shadow treats me well. Er. Chaos, that sound weird. And also...I just _want_ to be with him. And the collar is...sort of my way to hang onto him even when we're separated. I guess." He tried a lopsided smile, a little bit surprised at what had just come out, but Knuckles seemed suddenly a lot more understanding. He almost smiled.

"You wish to have somewhere...someone....to belong to. Even if that relationship seems to others to restrict you, like a leash. But what they don't understand is that it makes you feel whole...is that it?"

Sonic blinked. "Yeah, sort of. Wow, Knux, that was deep."

Knuckles nodded. "You know, you are talking to the last in line of the Guardians of the Master Emerald. I know _exactly_ what I'm talking about."

_To be continued..._


	20. Shopping Trip

**Chapter 20: Shopping Trip  
**

"_Where _have you been? It's almost past sunset now," Shadow admonished, his arms crossed in front of his chest and frowning as Sonic screeched to a halt in front of him where he had been waiting at the city walls.

"Eh, ran over the mountains, freed a slave camp, met up with the tribe of echidnas. Y'know. That sort of thing." Sonic gave a small shrug and a twinkling smile even when Shadow leashed him again without comment.

"So, what you are basically trying to tell me is that you haven't found or looked for the Emerald at all," the Ultimate Lifeform questioned dryly.

"Weeeell, that always depends on how exactly you define 'looked'-"

"_Sonic_." By now Shadow could only barely resist the temptation of yanking the leash sharply and make the blue hedgehog stumble in front of him as punishment.

"Okay, okay, no, I haven't found the Emerald. But, to be honest, I couldn't feel any indication of an Emerald nearby anywhere, so there really wouldn't have been much point spending more time looking," Sonic said, his tone less jocular now, before raising an eyebrow, looking at Shadow's empty hand. "However, can't fail to notice that _you _don't seem to have had much more success, my Lord and Master."

"Well, maybe not," Shadow admitted reluctantly, trying to conceal the brief flutter in his stomach he'd felt when Sonic had called him 'Master', no matter how much sarcasm that address had been loaded with. "So this day's mission was basically a failure. Hope you at least enjoyed your run."

"Hell, yeah. Thanks for asking." Sonic gave him a suprised but appreciative smile. "That's like, woah, almost a _nice_ thing for you to say."

"You should be a comedian, blue hedgehog," Shadow muttered, before continueing louder and with an almost worrying smile: "However, before we return home, we need to take care of our _alibi..." _

Sonic didn't know why, but that sentence suddenly made him swallow.

xxx

"What the hell? Shads, this is an _porn shop_! What on Mobius are we doing here?!"Sonic hissed barely fifteen minutes later, standing in the doorway to which the black hedgehog had led him, but refusing to go in further.

"Stop making a scene, people are staring!" Shadow hissed back equally silently, underlining his command with a fierce tug on the leash to let Sonic reluctantly take a step forwards. "Remember how I said we were actually going into the city to buy accessoires for you? We can't come back empty-handed."

"You can't be serious." Sonic was in a disbelief strong enough to barely register how Shadow pulled him deeper into the store and only inwardly squirmed at the sights he saw. They weren't the only customers.

Contrary to his first comment, the shop didn't just sell porn but also a variety of toys and gadgets, albeit most of them looking a lot less sophisticated than their twentyfirst-century equivalents and mostly fashioned from wood, leather or a form of proto-rubber instead out of plastic.

Some of the gadgets Sonic didn't even know what they were. Others he could imagine but couldn't decide which was worse.

The blue hedgehog looked around at some of the other people in the shop and almost cringed. While a few of them were alone, most were in the company of their slaves, like Shadow. They passed an aisle where a Lynx was watching a collared wolf-girl walk around awkwardly, her cheeks flushed with embarrasment, and Sonic couldn't avert his own gaze fast enough as he saw why exactly she was walking so stiffly. Why would you even stick that in a female?

"Okay. Now we need to find to find a few things for you," Shadow said at that, positively dragging a horrified Sonic past that display.

"No. Way. Shadow, I won't have _anything _from this shop in my body, neither here or elsewhere. This is below contempt." Sonic had backed away defensively, the whole atmosphere making him uneasy.

The black hedgehog sighed. "Sonic, I wish you'd give me some credit. I am not about to 'plug you up', as they put it. Or at least, not now," he added with a dark smirk that immediately let the blood rush into Sonic's cheeks before he could avoid it. Was the faker _enjoying_ this? Oh, sweet Chaos...

"Right. Hold still now, so we can get this over quickly..."

Before Sonic could say anything, Shadow had already grabbed a belt from a nearby hanger and slipped it around Sonic's waist, tightening it to an almost uncomfortable level.

"Urgh! What the-?" The blue hedgehog blinked, grabbing at the black leather dotted with metal rings, confounded. Shadow, however, was already to the next rack.

"Right. Now hold out your arm so I can put these on."

Sonic looked at the chain-bracelets as if he was still trying to figure out just who exactly of the two had lost their mind now. "Like, no? Seriously, what the - hey!" The hero of Mobius protested as the Ultimate Lifeform simply had grabbed his uncooperative arm and proceeded to clamp the bracelet around it himself.

"You're hopeless. Let's find you a vest. And gloves."

"Shadow, wait!"

"What?" The black hedgehog turned around, both hedgehogs staring at each other for the moment, before Shadow quickly took Sonic's shoulders and dragged them both deeper into the aisle. Then, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Okay. I seriously hope nobody saw any of this, because you were, once again, as slave-like as a circus clown."

"I don't care how slave-like I am! I am no slave! Shadow, what the hell is going on here, what, what _is_ all this?" Sonic asked, indicating the belt wound around his hips and the bracelet on his upper arm. "I mean, if you like leather that's all fine and dandy, but please, can't you get new car seat covers or something like that instead-"

"I_ am_ trying to make you at least _look_ the part. Using the most harmless devices I can find in this shop, so do me a favour and don't object? I promise it won't be anything...invasive." Shadow finished somewhat cryptic.

"Yeah, and the last time you _promised _something you ended up destroying half of the moon," Sonic muttered. "I think you just have a thing for playing dress-up," the blue hedgehog whispered dryly, but at last playing along and submitting to Shadow's perceived antics. Sonic of course didn't know that Shadow had indeed played dress-up with Maria long ago, but this was probably a good thing, because the mental picture of the little black hedgehog in a giant lab coat 'borrowed' from professor Gerald would probably have meant the hedgehog giggling until the entire store noticed how their Crown Prince essentially failed epically as a Master.

Now, however, things went a lot smoother. Shadow added a black (which seemed to be the predominant colour in the store) short vest, fingerless gloves (which Sonic regarded with distaste, since without proper gloves he felt rather naked), and another two bracelets around Sonic's ankles, which had two metal rings embedded, apparently meant to be connected with a chain.

"This is ridiculous. I am dressed like a bondage slave."

"May I remind you that you _are _a bondage slave?"

"No."

"Well, tough. We're going to the register."

"...I hope your monster dad cuts your pocket money," Sonic hissed, utterly dejected as he trudged behind Shadow, still careful not to ruin the show, though. Suddenly, the Ultimate Lifeform stopped.

"On second thought, wait a moment. I just saw something." And with those words, Sonic found himself equally suddenly leashed to a rack and left alone, feeling also a sudden urge to wring the black hedgehog's neck.

"Don't move."

"_Very funny!_"

While the other one was gone, Sonic idly examined the items next to which he was bound. It was again with a mixture of horror and fascination that his hands trailed over a contraption labelled as "cheek-spreader", something other called an "arab-strap" (that Sonic had a sudden desire never to find out how it was used) and various lingerie pieces, all more revealing than actually covering. It was almost with a certain relief that he saw Shadow approaching.

"Alright. Let me at your collar for a moment."

"Why?" Sonic eyed Shadow's hands with suspicion.

"It's a present for you. Now, _please?" _

Feeling slightly awkward, Sonic tilted his head a little bit upwards to allow Shadow access. The black hedgehog seemed to fasten something, then...

"There. All done."

"What did you...is that a _nametag?!" _Once again, the blue hedgehog just couldn't believe it. "_Sonic_." He turned it around to read_: "If lost, please call: 0405826492"_

"...please don't tell me this is your mobile number."

"Faker, I am the Ultimate Lifeform who lives on a space colony. Do I _look _like a have a cell phone?"

"Okay, for a moment you had me wor-"

"Actually, it's the number of Club Rouge. I reside there from time to time."

"Shadow!" Sonic exclaimed, now thoroughly flustered by the amused sparkle in the other's eyes. The black hedgehog, as uncharacteristic as it was, seemed to be having fun. The hero of Mobius shook his head. "You've completely lost it. As if the people in this dimension would even know what this means."

Shadow shrugged. "Am I not entitled to a private joke from time to time? And anyway, I hope you're not actually planning to get lost."

"...that entirely depends on how much more you decide to add to this carneval," Sonic answered laconically, indicating the various items wound tightly around his body. They gave him the impression of being bound withoutactually restricting him and he wondered whether they were meant to do that. He very dearly hoped they'd find this Emerald soon or else he'd end up feeding them to Lazar.

"None. You're finished. I'll only make you wear them to that dinner anyway."

"Am I supposed to be thankful, now?"

"Hush." Shadow led them to the register, paid and left the store, Sonic trying to suppress his awkwardness in tow. Once outside in the nightly bustle of the town, the blue hedgehog had the distinct impression that everyone and their cat was gawking at him, something the Hero of Mobius was used to, but not when leashed, dressed up and led along by his once archrival. Another wave of hotness splashed across his face.

It was immediately engulfed by ice running through his veins as Sonic from one second to the next was rooted to the spot. They had been passing by the slave markets again. And there, right in front of them, sat Tails. Bruised and bleeding in a hanging cage.

Shadow very deeply wished they hadn't even got out of bed this morning.

_To be continued..._


	21. Don't Buy Without Warranty

**Chapter 21: Don't Buy Without Warranty **

"I would like to buy that slave!"

Shadow's voice sounded as harsh as possible as he barked at the surprised owner of the stall, trying to act before Sonic could do anything. Having survived years fighting for his life both aboard the ARK and on Mobius, Shadow, much like Sonic, had a heightened sense for danger. Right now the blue hedgehog standing next to him set off the ninth symphony of alarm bells in his head.

The vendor, a shrewd-looking elderly bonobo ape, turned around, glaring at both of them suspiciously. Shadow by now had his hand clenched onto Sonic's shoulder so tightly that it must have been painful for the younger hedgehog, but judging by the blazing fury in the blue one's eyes, it hardly mattered to him.

"Better make this quick, Shadow. I don't know how long before I snap," Sonic whispered to his supposed owner, his voice hoarse.

The ape, seemingly oblivious to all of this, bared an ugly smile with several teeth missing. "Would you?" he asked, as an introduction. "Well, dear...sir," he added after a quick glance at Shadow's immaculately groomed fur and Sonic's expensive items, "I would very much like to oblige, but...you see, this one isn't for sale. I make my living off him as an exhibit."

At this, the foxlet in the cage gave a soundless sob that nevertheless sent his upper body convulsing. Disgusted, the bonobo hit the steel contraption with his walking stick, sending it swaying. "Quiet, you! Attract customers!" The monkey shrieked at the now sobbing kitsune, offering a quick apologetic smile (that made about as much difference as a snowflake in hell) to the black hedgehog, then quickly grasped both of the boy's tails to distract from the abysmal display.

"For you see, mylord, this one is a very interesting magic creature. Would you like, for a copper or two, to hear the magical stories of the multi-tailed fox spirits of old?" he asked, apparently slipping into his usual spiel.

Shadow, who now was sure that Mt. Sonic next to him was close to eruption, quickly proffered his entire purse. "There's seven gold rings in there. I believe that would be apt payment even if this fox of yours had nine tails and could spew fire."

"I already told you, I won't sell him for all the rings in the world," the monkey now adopted an annoyed expression. "Now, if you're not interested, please-"

"Trade me."

"What?" Shadow shot Sonic a quick glance out of the corner of his eye.

"You heard me. Offer him me in exchange for Tails. We need to get him out of there and I think I can handle myself in his hands. And I want to make this guy _pay,_" the blue hedgehog whispered, still unnoticed by the owner of the stall who was now busy again barking at his primary customer attraction that had curled up in despair.

Sonic's voice was ice-cold as he said this and Shadow's expression briefly hardened as he could recognize himself in there. This was the tone of someone so furious he was beyond simple anger. This was Big Brother Instinct in full swing, every fibre of the soul of the hero next to him burning for divine retribution, rage seething just beneath the surface. So far, Shadow had been pretty sure that he would have been able to convince Sonic to do any number of things, but this was very possibly one of the few instances where the blue hedgehog wouldn't budge an inch.

_Though of course, if that was this dimension's version of Maria in that cage, I would do the exact same. In fact, I doubt that this ape would even still be alive right now. _Shadow looked again at Sonic, emerald eyes locked on the cowering little fox.

_Sometimes we are so much alike, Sonic. _

Sonic, on the other hand, was as furious as he was afraid. If Shadow didn't do something soon, he'd kill the monkey. He could feel it. He could feel the rage boiling away, threatening to wash over his rational thought, all of his world suddenly filled with a red haze, Tails the only point that came clear into focus. He had stood on this threshold before. Had had people who had frightened or hurt his friends suddenly at his mercy, able to do with them as he pleased. Shadow was once again the only calm thing he could hold onto before turning into an animal and he prayed that this control wouldn't suddenly slip.

"Shadow…" he groaned almost soundlessly, trying to convey to Shadow that he couldn't stand this anymore. "_Do_ something…"

Shadow, sensing this, tried to compose himself.

"How about a trade, then?"

"Look, I _said-!"_

"I offer you my personal slave. Sonic. You won't find anything as rare as him on this world, I promise." Shadow couldn't help but allow himself a wry smirk at this poorly-timed private joke.

The bonobo's expression changed from irritation to something resembling interest. "A...swap, you mean? Hmm..."

"Look at your other slaves. Nothing around as vibrant as _this _blue, am I right? And you have to admit he's much more imposing to look at than your little foxlet...ah. No touching before purchase, please."

The monkey, who had been about to finger Sonic, withdrew his hand with a scowl. "Why? Are you trying to sell me faulty ware?"

_No, I am trying to save your hand from being ripped off, _Shadow thought. Aloud, he said: "No. I can assure you his pelt is exactly as silky as it looks_." And by Chaos I hope Sonic doesn't work out that I know that from experience_. "But since he is my personal slave, I won't allow anyone else to enjoy him...unless, of course, he shouldn't be my personal slave any longer. As Crown Prince, that is only to be expected."

"Oh. Er. Of course, your Majesty." The bonobo suddenly bowed deeply. "Forgive me for not recognizing you before, you, er, of course rarely feel the need to mingle with us lowly commoners, you-"

"Yes. Enough of that. Do we have a deal? Sonic is 17 years old, prime of his youth, fully broken and obedient. A marvelous creature, if I may say so myself. I must be mad to trade him...but for some reason I have always had a penchant for foxes. Then again..." Shadow inclined his head as if in calm contemplation. "Hmm. Well, I think I still want this urchin of yours for the moment. You should agree now before I change my mind."

It was a strange conversation. It was the first time Sonic had volunteered to be treated as a slave and Shadow thought that it had to be because he cared for the little fox so much. Then again, the blue hedgehog technically had also submitted to collar and leash for _him._ Out of logic, too, perhaps, but also because Shadow had asked him to.

_Hmm…should I take that as a sign that he cares for me, too? _The thought flashed through Shadow's head before he could stop it. It was a childish, girlish thought one might have in their teenage years and the Ultimate Lifeform immediately tried to quench it, but to no avail. He had read about this. When you were in love, you analyzed every single little action of the one you loved towards whether they might love you in return. So the article had said, And Shadow, who had never loved romantically before, found out that yes, this indeed was true and it was maddening.

"Hmm...well, if you put it like that, my liege..." The ape was currently drooling at the sight of a Sonic who could barely contain his rage, the ape obviously already calculating the ticket prizes he could charge for people to see the once personal slave of the Crown Prince. "It is a deal. Here, I will get the fox out for you."

The merchant moved to open the cage and leash a flinching Tails, who seemed to be half-strangled by his collar. He handed the leash to Shadow quickly, apparently unable to wait to get his hands on Sonic. The black hedgehog nodded. "I'll have his ownership papers sent to you as soon as possible. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

"Yes, yes, my liege, of course, my liege." The bonobo babbled, all of his attention focused on the blue hedgehog he was now holding. Shadow himself had to admit it was a ridiculous picture. When he had held Sonic in front of the mirror, that brief instant before the blue hedgehog had turned away, he had suddenly felt as if this was _right. _Sonic, his slave, pet and beloved, he as master, protector and lover. The pair that now stood before him - the stooping, dirty monkey dressed in rags, and the Hero of Mobius straight backed and stiff with fury next to him, eyes smoldering with anger focused on his 'master', did not look very convincing. If it hadn't been for the leash, you wouldn't even have been able to tell who was supposed to be owning whom.

"Well. I'll take my leave, I'm sure you have other business to take care of," Shadow said, giving Tails' leash a light tug to see how the cub would react. He felt a rare stab of pity as the little fox scrambled to his feet, glancing at his new perceived Master with a mixture of terror and faint hope.

"Yes, indeed I do. I hope to see you again, your Highness. Now, I think I'll give your old property a little bit of a trial..." the monkey leered at Sonic during his last comment. "You! Get into that tent there, lie down on the bed!" he barked, the indignancy radiating off the hedgehog seemingly going unnoticed by him. Sonic turned without hesitance to do as he was told, trembling as he was lead inside.

But Shadow had spent enough time at the side of the blue hedgehog to know that this was no charade for the sake of appearance. Sonic wasn't trembling to pretend to be frightened. Sonic was trembling in _wrath. _

The tent flaps fluttered shut behind the pair, the bonobo rubbing his dirty paws as he entered after his new acquisition. Shadow heaved a sigh and made to walk away from the stall, knowing that Sonic didn't really need his help here...in fact, the only one who would need his help was the merchant, but Shadow was very much disinclined to lift a finger for him. Casting a casual look at the fox cub who was staring at his feet, he gave the leash another light tug.

"Come on, you. We're going to the palace."

The kitsune gave a quick frightened glance, first at the tent entrance, then at his new Master. With a horror in his voice that almost sent a shiver down the world-weary Ultimate Lifeform's spine, he whispered:

"F-forgive me for speaking, but...the...the Master...he is going to do_ bad _things to your hedgehog, my lord."

xxx

"Right..." the monkey was almost salivating as he strode inside his tent. Then his anticipating expression suddenly changed to one of a surprised frown. "Hey! Why aren't you lying down like I told you to?"

"I am not going to lie down."

"What! You piece of filth, just who do you think you-?" The bonobo spat, raising his club and approaching Sonic with fury in his voice. Then something in Sonic's expression made him stop. Now the hedgehog advanced.

"My name is _Sonic_. Sonic the Hedgehog. I move at speeds faster than you can imagine," he started, and suddenly he was right in the face of the ape, and the club had disappeared from his suddenly limb grasp, tossed to the floor by white-gloved hands, "I am the protector of Mobius, a dimension you have never even heard of. I am capable of channeling the power and even the _fury_ of Chaos when I chose to," he said, his voice now as silky as a dagger sliding through skin as he moved so close to the monkey that their faces were nearly touching and the merchant could see every tiny number on the nametag of the hedgehog's suddenly so useless collar, "I have saved moons tied to planets. I have watched the world burn. I have defeated Chaos, the God of Destruction with my _own bare hands_," he spoke, his voice rising to a crescendo, a sudden violent push sending the petrified merchant onto his behind, the blue hedgehog now towering over him like an avenging angel.

"And _you_," he said, the anger finally burning through his words into his voice, flames erupting behind his emerald eyes like a vision of a portal to a hell made of jade,

"And you _just hurt my little brother!"_

xxx

"No. No, I don't think your former Master will do anything bad to Sonic," Shadow worded his reply carefully as he was leading Tails out of the city and towards the Palace. The fox blinked, not understanding and the Ultimate Lifeform privately thought it would be best not to say anything, even when the obvious surprise was visible on the cub's face as they soon saw Sonic calmly leaning against a rock not much further up the road. He had gotten rid of the vest, but all of his other items were still around his ankles, arms and wrists, not even a scratch.

"Well," Shadow said, glancing back towards the city. "It's still standing, I see. What about the merchant?"

"He isn't going to deal in the slave trade again." Sonic shrugged, his tone oddly calm and detached in comparison to his usual demeanour, but then his gaze settled on Tails and a smile immediately lit up his features.

"Hey there, little buddy! We got you outta there!"

"Yes, and I had also enough presence of mind to buy a second leash on my way out of the city before you overtook us. Your neck, please," Shadow stated flatly, already knowing how Lazar was likely to react when he returned from the city dragging two slaves instead of one when Sonic obviously still wasn't anywhere _near_ broken. 'But Lazar, my slave forced me to buy him' sure wasn't going to work.

"Urgh. In front of him?" Sonic shot an uneasy glance at Tails and at the leash that Shadow was holding out in anticipation. He seemed just a tidbit embarrassed.

"Sonic. This isn't the Tails you know and you know it. He won't be very surprised to see his new owner has another slave and the less he knows about our...special situation, the better. Now come over here."

Sonic sighed and let Shadow attach the leash to his collar with reluctance. Afterwards he straightened up quickly and twisted his neck as if he had to get comfortable again. Shooting a quick glance at Tails, he added:

"Hey, you can talk, you know. Shads and me aren't gonna bite your head off and I'll persuade anybody trying to harm you _personally_ that it would be a very, very bad idea."

The little fox, as if dazed, only nodded, after another fearful glance at the black hedgehog. Shadow, shaking his head, set off again, the two sapients in tow. Sonic, walking next to an also leashed Tails felt rather odd, but nevertheless tried to make some conversation, even though the little fox mainly stared at the floor. In the end, Sonic settled for talking about the food and comforts that would await them in the Palace, a defeated Shadow mentally already making a list of what they would have to steal from the kitchen in order to fulfill all of Sonic's promises. Despite the happiness of the blue hedgehog, Shadow knew that the arrival of another charge complicated things immensely. Well. At least Tails didn't seem to be as much of a troublemaker as his supposed original slave.

_Or so I hope. I'm seriously wondering what the fox kid from our world would do in this situation_.

xxx

"They have been _what_?" Tails, already a nervous wreck from the events of the previous days, stared at Knuckles, disbelievingly.

"Abducted. Um." The echidna looked rather sheepish, but wasn't lacking in offended dignity. "Look, I know looking after Sonic and Shadow is important, but I also have the Master Emerald to check up on, remember? Rouge is off searching for any traces of the missing Emerald 24/7, and Amy, as we both know, wouldn't be any help in this situation at all. It's not my fault that we still haven't found a psychiatrist and we both know that if we got any of GUN involved there would be a bloodbath with Shadow. What was I supposed to do?"

"Yeah. Okay. Whatever." Tails had a hand draped across his eyes, trying to keep calm. "Now, next phase: Do we know _who _abducted them?"

At this question, the echidna visibly balked.

"...Robotnik. Boy, is he gonna get a surprise, huh? Tails?"

_To be continued..._


	22. Lessons In Obedience

**Chapter 22: Lessons In Obedience**

"A new sslave, my Prince?" Lazar predictably questioned as Shadow returned to the castle at sunset, leading a fidgety Sonic and a positively terrified Tails behind him. The foxlet had freaked as soon as he had realized he was supposed to be taken to the castle and not even Sonic had been able to calm him. Shadow had had to threaten to beat the kit, at which notion Sonic had growled, but at least for now the young fox was more terrified of his new owner than of the looming bulk of the royal fortress. The purple lizard flicked his black tongue in disapproval. "It sseemed like you sstill had your handsss full with the mosst recent addition…"

Shadow had to battle the urge not to fill his hands with Lazar's throat, but at least Tails gave a more slave-appropriate whimper at the lizard's glare than Sonic, who just glared right back, as usual. Shadow sighed and yanked his leash.

"I have found that Sonic reacts a lot better to mistreatment of others than to abuse of himself. Therefore, to break him into submission I bought this pitiful waif, which I plan on punishing in Sonic's stead where he can see it, until he realizes that he has to obey me to the letter or there _will_ be consequences."

"An unorthodox approach. Ussually thesse sslavess do not care for anything elsse but themselves. And usually they alsso only have one tail," Lazar mused, though he sounded mildly intrigued.

Shadow smirked. "And what kind of royalty would I be if _any _of my possessions and pets were ordinary? I will need a second food bowl in my room tonight, but until then I do not wish to be bothered. This day has been tiring," he finished, which also was possibly the only non-lie he had uttered to Lazar all day. He pushed past the lizard imperiously, aware of how frightening this episode just had to have been for the kit. Inwardly, though, he shrugged. Shadow himself had been through much worse in _his_ childhood, so there wasn't that great a pity he could make himself feel. Besides, having Tails with their little troupe had just upped the complications by around 300 percent, so he was feeling just that teensy bit resentful.

_Yeah. That's it. And it has nothing at all to do with the fact that Sonic is now fawning all over the tail-wonder and isn't paying a bit of attention to ME, _Shadow thought. _If anyone knew I'm this close to throwing a tempter tantrum because I want attention from __Sonic__ of all people, I'd be the laughing stock for the next century. _

Shadow grumbled under his breath, pushing the door open to their shared domicile. As Tails nearly froze at the threshold upon seeing the huge bed of the Prince and Sonic put a soothing hand on his shoulder, whispering in his large ear to calm the little fox, the Ultimate Lifeform couldn't help but feel a small pang in his chest at this picture of intimacy and love that the blue hedgehog had to feel even for this pitiful version of his kid brother.

Shadow closed the door with force as if to shut this train of thought physically out. He turned toward Sonic and Tails, making to take off their leads. The kit's one was a quick affair, but for Sonic's, Shadow just permitted himself take a couple of extra seconds, as if he had suddenly difficulty with the lock, just for the pleasure of touching his supposed slave . His fingers brushed over Sonic's neck, throat and shoulders as if by accident and Shadow wondered whether he had imagined the sudden hitching of breath in the blue hedgehog's throat in mid-sentence to Tails.

_Do my touches make you nervous, Sonic? _He couldn't help but wonder. It might just be false hope conjured up by his sudden jealousy, but…

The black hedgehog shook his head. He had to think up something they could do with the kit and it wouldn't be easy. His glance fell onto the pile of books on his writing desk.

"Right. I have to read up about echidnas," he announced. "Go busy yourselves, I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on, being from different dimensions and all," he added dryly, sitting down in his chair. "And Sonic, no going outside," he raised a warning eyebrow at his pretend pet, who merely gave a mock sigh.

"As you wish, Master. Tails 'n me are just gonna wait for the food here. Ain't that right, buddy?" he added to the confused fox kit, giving him a light slap on the shoulder, which startled the boy slave even more. Shadow merely shook his head and focused on the echidna records. There had to be something about what he was looking for…

"Ma-master, what do you wish this slave to do?" Tails asked suddenly, staring at the floor. Before Shadow could reply, Sonic knelt down in front of him so that he could look into Tails' eyes.

"Kiddo, stop that talk. You can start thinking for yourself again, didn't your hear anything what I said on the way here?"

The young fox shot a quick glance at Shadow, as if checking whether the black hedgehog would disapprove of the two slaves talking to each other. When his perceived owner continued to ignore them entirely, however, he at least managed a timid whisper.

"Yes…but it sounds so…_odd…"_

Sonic shook his head. "The concept of freedom 'sounds odd' to you. I swear, Black Doom has a _lot_ to answer for."

Tails visibly bleached. "You mustn't say that! Don't you know we're not allowed to call our masters by their names_?_!"

"Is that so?" Sonic raised an eye ridge, making a mental note to call Lazar by name the very next chance he got. "Well, I hope you will at least act a bit more natural around me. How about we get you cleaned up first, huh? I mean, no offence li'l buddy, but you _reek,"_ the blue hedgehog smiled at the young one to show it was a joke, but the way the fox kid hung his head shamefully indicated that it might not have been the smartest idea.

"They…they never gave me water for washing…"

"'They' will never get their hands on you again, I promise. Now, here…" Sonic had found some cloths in one of the drawers and carefully wet them in the drinking bowl to rub the worst of the dirt out of Tails' fur. His gloved fingers wrapped themselves around the stick-thin arm with worrying ease and not for the first time Sonic noticed with a stab of anger just how undernourished the kid was.

"Tell me if I hurt any bruises or wounds, okay? I'll try to be gentle around them."

"Please…why do you care?" Tails asked, confusion and worry evident in his voice. Sonic sighed. This was going to be tougher than he'd thought, but it should have been clear to him that a whole childhood full of abuse was not to be remedied so easily.

"I care because I care about you. I care because nobody should have given you those bruises in the first place. I care because hurting others isn't _right_," he said, trying to put in simple terms the little fox would be able to understand. Sonic would have guessed this Tails wasn't even nine years old like his Mobius counterpart but probably more around five or six.

"But I'm just a slave," Tails muttered miserably. "We are there to feel bad."

"No!" Sonic had grasped his charge's shoulder at that, sitting up on his knees and forcing the kit to look at him with one hand below his chin.

"That is complete rubbish, Tails. Nobody should suffer. Everyone should be free to do as they want!"

"How…how can you talk like this_?_!" Tails gasped, then pointed straight at Sonic's collar. "You're just a slave, too! And if you say such things we will both be punished…" his voice trembled now, looking at Shadow still buried in his books fearfully.

Sonic gave a pained smile.

"No, we won't. We have a very nice Master, Tails," he said, making sure to raise his voice at the last bit and exaggerate his pronunciation to make sure the black hedgehog heard him. Sonic wondered whether he had imagined the slight twitching of the tan lips of the Ultimate Lifeform.

Tails looked away, though.

"Your collar is red…"

"Ye-yeah, so?" Sonic's throat was suddenly a lot drier and he could already feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. He usually tried not to think about his supposed status the choker signified and now he really hoped Tails wouldn't ask any questions he was disinclined to discuss with a five-year old.

_As long as I'm not even sure what I should do now that I've fallen in love with my archrival whose slave I'm currently pretending to be, I *really* don't need more complications at the moment. _

The fox kid didn't meet his eyes.

"I know what it means. My previous owner wanted to train me as a pleasure slave, too."

"He _what?_!" Sonic was about to jump up in fury, but something in Tails' sudden intense gaze held him back. The fox bit his cracked lip.

"Can you tell me…does it hurt?"

The blue hedgehog now flushed seriously while his tongue had suddenly tied into a knot.

"I – I don't know, I mean I've never been – I mean…!" he fumbled, gesticulating helplessly.

Tails regarded Sonic's flustered state curiously. And then, for the first time ever, actually let see a little smile.

"Maybe the Prince _is_ a nice Master, then."

Sonic tried to breathe deeply. "Yes. You can say that."

"So he never forced you onto all fours and then put things into-"

"_Tails_!" Sonic was horrified, not only because Tails was way too young for this stuff but also because it now conjured some unwanted images in his head. "Stop talking about that! Where the heck did you pick that up?!"

"Some of the older slaves of my owner talked about their training," the young fox mumbled. "I didn't think it sounded nice."

"No. Best you forget all about it. Now let me wash your back in peace, okay? No mentioning putting _things_ into other people anymore, alright?" Sonic said, at the moment trying not to freak out in front of the fox. The everyday world of slaves here was so completely alien to him and angered and terrified him in equal measures.

"I'm not worrying about that, anyway," Tails said as Sonic began to work on the mess that qualified as his back fur, and for some reason he already sounded desolate again. "I know why I'm here. You're the slave who's not broken because you talk so much and now I am going to get punished for everything you do wrong. And I think I am going to get punished a _lot_," he finished and Sonic felt his heart clench up again as he saw suddenly tears pooling again in those wide azure eyes. It was time for drastic measures.

"Wrong again, li'l buddy. Look here, I'll prove it," he said, standing up and making sure the now curious gaze of the fox was upon him. He strode over to Shadow who still was engaged in study and had his back to them.

Soft sneaker prints became utterly soundless as Sonic approached the last two metres, obviously trying not to be detected. Tails, being able to deduce that the hedgehog was up to no good couldn't do anything but watch in silent horror.

Then, Sonic pounced.

"_Tickle attack_!"

"What the-?!" Blood-red eyes grew wide at this most undignified handling of his person. Suddenly the arms of Sonic were encircling Shadow from behind, running up and down his sides, brushing through his fur and generally making sure the Ultimate Lifeform was suddenly wondering whether he had accidentally plugged himself into the electrical socket of the universe. Shadow shot straight out of his chair.

"Woah, there, Shads, I didn't think you'd react _that _well…" Sonic grinned as if he'd swallowed a banana square as his supposed owner whirled around and Tails wondered whether his death would at least be painless.

"And what would be the reasoning behind _that _particular tactic gem, my intellectually challenged pet?" Shadow composed himself again, dead-panning the blue hedgehog, who merely shrugged and smiled.

"Well, yanno, Tails was worried that you'd meant that stuff at the door seriously. Like, me fooling around and him taking the rap. Just wanted to show him that nothing will happen to him while he's here."

"Is that so," Shadow repeated tonelessly, then turned around to Tails. "Well, kid, your new friend is right. I am not planning on hurting you."

"Thank…thank you, Master…." Tails stammered, surprised at the sudden address and confounded by the whole spectacle. Sonic was about to walk back to the fox to finish up, but a hand suddenly grabbing his collar made him lurch backwards and gag. Surprised, he looked up into Shadow's eyes, which were suddenly sparkling wickedly.

"Hurting whoever thinks sneaking up on me is _funny, _however…" the Ultimate Lifeform gave an ever so worrying smirk.

"Wh-what? Shads, it was a joke!" Sonic tried to wrest himself free, but Shadow suddenly twisting his arm onto his back again wouldn't let him.

"I'm sure you thought it was, Sonic," Shadow continued pleasantly, pushing his captive forward, one hand still grasping the choker to control the unwilling slave, "However, I can't have Tails think that attacks on your Master go unpunished, can I?"

_To be continued..._

* * *

It's aliiiive! Yup, back and running again with a coupla chapters already lying around on my harddrive, so no worries about the next updates - reason for the insane lag mostly that my pc crashed and deleted the chapter I'd spent a lot of time writing and me going off to sulk - after that, lots of undecidedness which scenes to write again, which scenes not to include anymore and general chaos surrounding the storyline. However, I've decided on a course now, so it's just a matter of writing stuff down. I re-wrote the last chapter too, since Sonic and Shads seemed a bit OOC as was pointed out to me - I'm a huge Sonic fangirl and wanted to make him extra hardcore, so can you blame me? XD Now it reads much better, though, so i hope you enjoy the story again and tell me about it. By now this fic has more favs and alerts than my epics on my regular account, so I can't decide whether to be flattered or insulted. XD

Please read and review!


	23. Three Is A Crowd

**Chapter 23: Three Is A Crowd**

"Let me go!" Sonic demanded, twisting and turning, but to no avail. This wasn't in any way as serious as the fight they had had two days ago which had ended in a similar situation until Sonic had kicked Shadow with his heel into the shin to escape from this grip, but it was enough to worry him _just _a little.

"Nope," Shadow replied, his tone devoid of pity. "You'll just have to pay the price."

"What-what price?" Sonic asked, suddenly horribly aware of how Shadow was pushing him toward the bed. "Tails, this isn't what you think it is!" he called out over his shoulder to the fox who was meanwhile trying to melt into the wall. In truth, Sonic had no idea _what _it was, either, but he refused to believe Shadow would actually hurt him. If he'd thought the black hedgehog would have tried to actually…no. Shadow wouldn't. Sonic was surprised to find how much he actually trusted the other by now, even to a degree he wouldn't have previously thought possible. If this had been anyone but Shadow, Sonic would have fought like a wild-cat and might even have broken free by now. The black hedgehog, however, proved quite adept at containing Sonic even as the blue hedgehog still struggled, at half-power or no. Still, no matter what Shadow was planning, Sonic knew he wouldn't go down without a fight.

"An eye for an eye, faker," Shadow murmured into a blue ear, making Sonic jump in his grasp. "What did you think the price was?"

Green eyes widened as the blue hedgehog realized. "You can't mean-"

"Oh yes, my dear unwilling pet. Oh _yes," _Shadow replied easily, something akin to demonic mirth now in his voice.

And with that, Sonic suddenly felt the hand on his neck push him forward, one of Shadow's legs sweeping his feet out from under him to send him tumbling onto the bed with a cry of surprise.

"No!" He tried to roll back onto his feet but Shadow was on him in an instant, wrestling himself atop Sonic with his superior strength easily. His teeth were bared in the feral grin of a hunter.

"No, Shads, stop, this isn't funny-!" Sonic protested, still attempting to escape, but to his dismay his wrists were caught easily and now Shadow was kneeling above him, pinning his arms above his head with one hand against the bed.

"If this isn't funny, Sonic…" Shadow drawled. "…then why are you laughing?"

And with that, he ran his other hand just along the side of Sonic where he knew the hedgehog had a ticklish spot from experience.

Sonic gasped and bucked.

"Aaagh! This isn't fair, faker-!" he huffed, hoping this was it, but Shadow had other plans.

"You attacked me first, hedgehog. Don't start anything you can't finish," the black hedgehog retorted without pity…before then adding the second hand.

"Ahhh…no! No!" Sonic cried in between his involuntary laughter, twisting and squirming, but he could hardly think straight. Shadow's hands were _everywhere _on his torso, finding his lower ribs, his neck, his abdomen and there was no escape. He tried swatting at Shadow, but it was as ineffective as it was uncoordinated. His body was reacting to the black hedgehog's actions and Sonic couldn't do anything about it, feeling the weight of the other one top of him, himself on his back, completely exposed to the touches of his supposed Master. Sonic was throwing his head back, twisting and trying to escape, face half-muffled by the cushions at his side, feeling like there wasn't a spot he could save from those questing fingers -

"No, please-!" he was begging now…and then a finger suddenly ran into his navel and he shrieked.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, national hero and ticklish like a little girl." Shadow smirked as he finally sat upright again, crossing his arms and sounding smug. Underneath him, Sonic was flushed and panting, blushing as much from the exertion as from the humiliation.

"I am _not_-!" he started, but Shadow held up a finger.

"Ah? Do I have to discipline you again?"

"Like hell you will!" Sonic shouted, more in agitation than in actual anger, finally shoving the black hedgehog off himself, who didn't resist, and then scooted backwards on the mattress until his blue-spiked back hit the wall, regarding Shadow with peach chest still heaving, and a rather interesting shade of red on his cheeks. Shadow couldn't help but give a tiny smile at the adorable picture the ruffled, shaken Sonic crouching opposite on the bed from him made for.

"That was hardly fair payback!" Sonic accused him. "You _wrestled _me down onto the bed for whole minutes! That was torture!"

"Nope, just bad luck." Shadow's lip twitched. "You failed trying to find my ticklish spots. I succeeded. And _you _started it."

Sonic hmmphed, trying to regain some poise and turning his nose up. "Whatever. Just don't think you can ever take me unawares again. Some fine 'nice master' you are,' he scroffed, trying to ignore that ghost of a feeling of Shadow's hands on his lower ribs that still lingered...

Shadow shrugged. "I let you keep your clothes on, didn't I?"

Sonic flinched at that comment and then covered his face with his hands. "Oh gods. You heard mine and Tails' conversation?"

The Ultimate Lifeform nodded. "Pretty much every word. And by now I agree with you that we have to get the kid out of here."

"Yeah," Sonic breathed deeply, becoming serious once more. "Any plans yet?"

"Working on one," Shadow replied mysteriously, rising from the bed and walking over to the desk again. "Dinner should be in soon, by the way."

"Cool," Sonic commented, before briefly shaking himself and then calling over to Tails. "Hey, buddy, you can stop curling up now. Punishment's over and I'm fine, see?" he asked, hopping off the bed and gesturing at his own body left unmarred by the 'discipline measure' with one sweeping movement.

"Shadow's got a nasty sense of humour, but that's all. Lemme see your paws again whether they're clean enough for dinner?" the blue hedgehog gently grasped one of the small furry hands in his, turning it over.

Tails looked at him with wide eyes. "Either I died and went to a new place…or, and please don't be angry, you and the Master are both the craziest people I have ever seen."

Sonic chuckled. "I guess you could say that." Then a movement from the other side of the room made him look up. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Just getting some additional things for dinner," the black hedgehog replied mysteriously, having risen and now making for the door. "Tails, if Sonic tries to leave the room while I'm away, my order to you is to stop him. Understood?"

"What_?_!"

"Y-yes, Master!" Tails squeaked immediately, jumping to attention.

A smirking Shadow stepped through the door and left them, entirely ignoring Sonic's protest tirade re: "Just what part of 'Let's Not Make Him Feel Like A Slave Anymore' didn't you understand_?_!"

The door slammed shut and Sonic slumped back onto the bed, sighing. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Tails standing nervously by the door and giving him a worried look.

"Uhm. Please don't try to leave the room. Please."

_Shadow, you conniving bastard. _

In truth, Sonic would have liked nothing more to run outside and plunder the castle for food, sweets and other items for Tails as soon as Shadow had left him out of his sight, but the black hedgehog had cleverly come up with about the one thing that could stop Sonic from doing something he wanted. Namely, raising only a little finger against Tails.

The blue hedgehog groaned. He hated being confined to this room and found himself longing for Shadow to come back already. Somehow, the black hedgehog relieved his feeling of captivity somewhat when he was around, even if he was in some way the one who kept Sonic tied up and leashed in the first place…

_Great, now I'm developing Stockholm Syndrome. _

Sonic sighed and shook his head. He hadn't fallen in love with Shadow because the black hedgehog was currently his supposed owner, but because his entire personality was a complete enigma to him and one that he desperately wanted to know more about. Recently, the black hedgehog had shown a lot more playfulness than Sonic would have ever thought him capable of – the game of tag yesterday, the little dominance battle around the chocolate piece in the park with Amy, the teasing with the push-ups on the very first day after their arrival…and finally, this. Shadow hadn't slapped him around the head for his tickle-attack (which, frankly, Sonic had been expecting) but instead played along and had actually been _laughing_ (okay, make that smirking) when he had pinned Sonic down on the bed, the whole exercise happening only because Shadow had thought it was fun.

_He's loosening up around me, _Sonic thought and smiled. _I wonder whether he's just enjoying my company, or…_

His heart beat faster again at the memory of the black hedgehog on top of him and he could feel the butterflies in his stomach fluttering once more, too.

_Butterflies? Make that freakin jet engines. _

He had _liked_ it. Enjoyed the feeling of playfully fighting with Shadow, had actually thought it kind of...fun to be in a position on his back and dealing with that disadvantage...but then still shoved Shadow off himself as quickly as possible, because there was no way Sonic the Hedgehog would turn into the submissive pet they expected him to be just because some twisted wannabe Princy-boy somehow managed to set his intestines on fire, right? Right.

Sonic groaned again, just louder this time.

"Are you alright?" Tails asked, a bit of concern wavering in his voice. The hero of Mobius sat up, running his hands over his face.

"Sort of. I think I need to get rid of these things," Sonic replied, at the same time starting to wrestle with the bondage cuffs on his ankles, the band on his arm and thigh, the too tight belt and the fingerless gloves that let him feel rather naked, anyway.

"Are you sure you're allowed to do that?"

"Kiddo, it's my body, not Shadow's." _Even if he manages to let it react in certain very embarrassing ways. _"And I want my own gloves back," Sonic stated, moving over to the writing desk where he hoped Shadow might have put them and began rifling through the drawers. He stopped when he got to the bottom one that looked as if had not been opened in a while.

It was about the largest assembly of rubbery, knobbly devices, handcuffs, gags and pots of translucent jellies he had ever seen.

When the door opened at that moment and Shadow walked in, this particular drawer was slammed shut with sonic speed.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Ultimate Lifeform asked as means of greeting, clutching a pair of wooden cups, plates and an assortment of fruit in his arms.

"Nothing! Don't look in that drawer!" his supposed slave hurriedly answered, shooting up to stand oddly straight. Shadow noticed his cheeks were tinged with red again, something that seemed to happen remarkably often during the last few days.

"Tails, he hasn't been drinking, has he?" Shadow asked with a frown.

"No, Master," the fox shook his head quickly, his stare wandering from the pile of Sonic's discarded items to Shadow, obviously wondering whether their owner would get angry at them for this act of disobedience. Not for the first time the kitsune wondered whether he was in some sort of bizarre foreign country when the only thing that seemed to happen was a displeased comment to 'clean up this mess if you're not wearing it, and no, I threw your original gloves away. Now stop _yelling!_'

It was a few minutes later that they were sitting around the table, though, and Shadow was putting a cup and a plate in front of each of them and pouring water into the drinking vessels. Sonic was staring miserably at his black fingerless gloves, imagining that they only cemented his slave status further. As soon as they were back on Mobius, the first thing he'd do would be to get rid of these things.

"Tails, stop fidgeting." The voice of Shadow raised him from his daydreams. "I told you that in this room you're allowed to eat at the table with us."

"Master, I…I only ever ate from the floor…" Tails was staring fixedly at the plate in front of him, not able to raise his gaze. The fact that his owner's _other_ slave was slouching on his seat, both elbows resting on the table and scowling at the Prince for 'stealing his gloves' did nothing to reassure him.

"Yes, and now you're going to learn how to sit at a table and eat. We're going to give you to a foster family and it would be good if you had learned some manners when we do."

"Wait, what?" Sonic looked up from the drink he'd just downed. "A foster family?"

"Yes," Shadow confirmed. "It's the only way. He needs somebody to take care of him."

"But I can do that! I already did!" Sonic protested, even though he knew what Shadow was going to say.

"Sonic. Not only are you supposed to be a slave in this world as well, but you know as well as I do that we might not even be here anymore as soon as Black Doom gives that dinner to present the Emerald in two days' time. We have no idea of the personality of the original Prince and what he might do when he returns and finds Tails here."

Sonic, who _had_ an idea after seeing that drawer, only nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah…I suppose it's not like we can take him home, huh? But…I mean, there's still time, right? Even if we got the Emerald the day after tomorrow, we could stick around a while longer, see that he's taken good care of and stuff." He had to yawn after he'd said this, even if it was only early evening.

"Maybe." Shadow didn't meet Sonic's gaze at this.

"Where would we be sending him anyway?" Sonic asked. "You told me that in this world people like me and Tails are supposed to be slaves for life."

"Only in Black Doom's realm," Shadow replied. "I had the idea of looking for a family somewhere outside of these bounds."

"If he's safe there," Sonic muttered darkly. "I haven't forgotten the rumours of war everybody's talking about here. What if Black Doom wins and takes over the other countries as well? We should stop him, Shadow."

The Ultimate Lifeform sighed, sensing that now the blue hedgehog not only wanted to save Tails, abolish slavery, but also very possibly take it up with the army of the alien overlord.

Why did the blue hedgehog have to be so..._difficult_? And more importantly, how could only one look from those emerald eyes almost make Shadow agree to any and all insane schemes he would think up?

_I just want to make you happy, Sonic…and sometimes it's hard. _

"Sonic. This isn't our world. I said we could save Tails and try more if any opportunities came up but you simply care _too much_."

"_You_ never care _enough_!" Sonic retorted, both hedgehogs locked again in a glaring contest. To Sonic's immense surprise, it was Shadow whose gaze suddenly softened and he looked away.

"No. Perhaps I don't."

It was said with just a hint of sadness that startled Sonic right again. The black hedgehog didn't notice. He was again in his own inner world, wondering whether Sonic's words might be true. He thought he loved the blue hedgehog by now. Yet he was about to cold-bloodedly betray his trust and wasn't even planning on telling him. Was he, Shadow, even capable of love anymore? He had been raised as a killer, only Maria the one person who always tried to instil in him that he was still a person with feelings like everybody else. Now, Sonic's accusation had sent him wondering again – the blue hedgehog was somebody who wore his heart on his (non-existent) sleeve, and, as the example with Tails had shown, was able to love whole-heartedly and unconditionally.

_Could I even reciprocate that kind of love? _

All this had rushed through Shadow's mind in a matter of seconds, his empty stare still fixed at some point on the wall. He was surprised when Sonic suddenly spoke again.

"Umm...everything okay? You sounded….kinda odd there," the blue speedster finished somewhat awkwardly, giving Shadow a questioning glance. His ears were drooping now, a sure sign of tiredness.

"Yeah. I'm fine," the black hedgehog replied, but it was a lacklustre tone of voice.

"I…maybe I didn't quite mean what I said. Not completely, anyway."

"What?" Blood-red eyes looked up, but this time it was Sonic who seemed to be taking an interest in the wall. Nevertheless, he continued.

"About you. I think you can care, if you want to. If something's important to you, or…someone." An emerald gaze met his at the last word and Shadow almost thought that there was a question in there that remained unspoken…

"Thank you," Shadow said quietly, and once again, Sonic's smile flitted across his face so easily that he could almost make Shadow believe he was as pure-hearted as the blue hedgehog himself.

"Hey Tails, you still okay there?" Sonic changed the topic again, focusing on the forgotten little kit again. The fox had been hesitantly eating some of the grapes on his plate while the older Sapients had been talking.

"Yes…" he managed timidly, sticking his hands underneath the table again as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't.

"Did you notice that we were talking about you?" Sonic asked in a kind voice, trying to get the kid to make eye contact again. Another yawn almost eclipsed the young fox'answer.

"No…"

The blue hedgehog thought he probably had, but that experience had taught him that it was better to pretend to be deaf and dumb to survive. He continued anyway.

"Well, kiddo, I hope you know I only want you to be happy. Shadow thinks the best way would be to give you to a family that will take care of you."

"I am going to be sold again?" Tails suddenly sounded close to tears. "But what have I done _wrong?_!"

"Nothing!" Sonic hurriedly tried to reassure him, taking the trembling little form into a hug.

"But, you might have noticed, even if Shadow is pretty nice to me – a twisted, very strange kind of nice, admittedly…" – he gave the black hedgehog a pointed look and took a deep breath – "...I am still a slave. And I would like you not to be. Do you understand?"

"_Not_ be a slave? But…" Tails began, confused. Shadow stood up.

"There are places out there where there is no slavery. I could take you there and give you to somebody who will make sure that noone ever hurts you again. No one would ever own you again. You would be _free_."

"Would you like that?" Sonic asked, privately worrying that they were overtaxing the young kid's mind a bit with the concept. Tails stared at him with wide, blue eyes.

"Freedom isn't easy, kiddo," Sonic said. "And believe me, I've known it, brings with it a whole bunch of other problems and decisions. But I can also tell you that to simply _run, _explore, travel, go wherever you want to see all there is to see…" he smiled at the fox.

"…it's the best feeling in the _world._"

It was the second smile Tails gave them and this time it was just a little bit brighter. The young kit gave the tiniest of nods.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I would like that."

"Awesome," Sonic managed through another yawn, standing up from the table and swaying slightly. "Blimey, I'm tired. But I'm mondo proud of ya, Tails. Just wish I knew what on Mobius I've done to be this dizzy…." He sat down heavily onto the bed and collapsed onto his side instantly, his eyes growing wide.

"Oof – this can't be normal…Shadow, I think something's wrong with me!" Sonic now sounded worried as he struggled to get up again but couldn't. The black hedgehog shook his head and stood up to walk over to Sonic's bedside.

"You're perfectly fine, Sonic. And I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I gave you a sedative in your drink. You're going to zone out in the next few minutes and not wake up till morning."

"The hell? Why did you do that?" Sonic now sounded more than alarmed, staring up at Shadow with a gaze that hovered between the angered, confused, frightened and most of all, hurt.

"I need you to stay here, Sonic. I'm going to go away for a few hours and you can't come with me."

"What…is this, Shadow…?" the hedgehog's breathing was becoming laboured now as he struggled to stay awake.

The Ultimate Lifeform sighed, looking unhappy.

"It's simple, really. I'm going into dangerous territory and if I don't come back there needs to be one of us still free."

"N..no way…"

"Also, it would be suspicious if I took you out twice on the same day. We still need to keep up our guise. But the real reason is simply this;" Shadow knelt down next to the bed where the form of his beloved pretend slave was splayed on his side, not comprehending yet what he was about to do.

"I have to go alone, Sonic, because you would never be able to let Tails go." He laid a hand on the blue hedgehog's trembling flank, rubbing it as if to calm him. "I'm sorry."

And Sonic could only watch helplessly as Shadow then turned and dragged a surprised Tails out of the door, sleep claiming him the instant the two people who mattered most to him disappeared from his view.

_To be continued..._

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WOW. I simply have to say the response to last chapter was absolutely awesome. I would never have expected after such a long dormancy to draw such a fantastic crowd of loyal reviewers. You guys are brilliant, and make writing this fic twice as fun. :) As long as you keep this up, the chapters will just fly into your inbox, I've seldom had such motivation. Thanks! Would love to hear what you thought of this chapter's development, too, if you read, please review!


	24. Visitors of the Night

**Chapter 24: Visitors Of The Night**

"Ma-master? Where are we going?" Tails asked timidly, no leash on his neck but instead Shadow's iron grip on his wrist pulling him forward.

"Hush. Not a single sound until we're out of the castle," Shadow hissed back. It was already after dark and the black-furred Prince hoped not to attract any attention. Tails bit his chewed-up lip, trying not to let a single whimper betray his fear. This day had been the most bizarre in his entire life. The pair descended a narrow winding staircase, keeping to the shadows and sneaking through side corridors as if they were a pair of burglars and not a case of eccentric royalty and his pet.

Inside, Shadow was even faintly amused. This brought back childhood memories of him sneaking through the nightly corridors of the ARK sometimes with Maria, sometimes alone. He thought it a good sign that now he could recall those years spent with his best friend with a bittersweet joy, instead of the mindless rage he'd felt before he'd met Sonic...

Tails was even more confused as they now seemed to be moving through the laundry of the Palace, huge tubs and piles of clothing lining their path, the damp smell of soap and sweat heavy in the air. Finally, they came to a small wooden door which Shadow yanked open. Tails gasped as suddenly he saw the star-dotted sky and moonlit landscape outside.

"There. Cleaning maids' exit. Far easier to sneak out through here than to use the main door." Shadow smirked, striding outside.

"How...how do you know about this, Master...?" Tails mumbled in awe at the space of the plains at the foot of the hill, for a moment forgetting his fear.

Shadow's lips curled slightly. "Please, kit. Just because Sonic is the one famous for running off, it doesn't mean I haven't done my own exploratory trips."

"Oh..." Tails mouthed, then suddenly gasped as Shadow scooped him up in his arms as if he was a doll. Terror flooded the small form of the two-tail, memories of what close contact usually meant for slaves bubbling to the surface of his mind.

"Aaaah! Ma-master...! Please...please don't hurt me now..." he whimpered, already knowing that this would not help, having learned that pleading was always, always useless...

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked, irritably. He supposed it looked quite comical from a distance, seeing him slightly helpless with a terrified fuzzball in his arms, but after six days with barely any sleep and no food at all he was getting _twitchy_. He sighed.

"For the umpteenth time, fox, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to _carry _you."

"Carry me?" Tails stopped clenching up for a moment and uncurled to look the bigger Sapient into the eyes, then quickly remembered his place and downcast his glance. "M-may I ask where, Master?"

"It's a surprise," Shadow replied mysteriously, shifting a flinching Tails slightly in his arms to get a better grip. Chaos, they must have mistreated the kit...

"Hold on tight," the Ultimate Lifeform warned before then taking off into the night, the surprised shriek of the little fox all he left behind.

xxx

Knuckles had a fitful sleep. The war against Black Doom was due to break out any day now. As son of the Guardian he was a leader of a part of the echidna army and would have to fight in battle soon. His men and women were as tense and stressed as him, the rumours of a powerful secret weapon Black Doom had allegedly acquired in the last few days not to be quenched. Right now people were still waiting for King Maximilian of Acorn to decide whether he would side with Queen Aleena's realm and the echidna tribe, or stay loyal to Black Doom. It was said that the squirrel king would have an audience with the evil overlord soon, which would probably decide things. If King Max sided with Queen Aleena and the echidnas, then there was a chance that they could overthrow the dictator and abolish slavery once and for all. If not…

Knuckles twisted in his sleep again, sweat-drenched in a nightmare. He was alone in his tent, on a camp-out with his army at a strategically important position close to the borders of Black Doom's realm.

There couldn't really be a secret weapon, right? Where would Black doom have unearthed one now all of a sudden?

But still he couldn't escape the dark world of his dreams where the Master Emerald would shatter under the claws of the evil King, where he and his father were enslaved like the blue hedgehog he'd seen in the palace, where the whole world was wrapped in chains, where Angel Island would fall from the sky, burning…

Knuckles awoke with a gasp, breathing frantically and clutching his blanket. It took him a while to recognize that it had just been a nightmare, that he was safe in his tent, that his heart could really stop trying to escape his chest now.

Then the entrance flap of his tipi was suddenly whisked open and two blood-red eyes stared at him.

"Guardian. I need to speak to you."

And if any of the other echidnas had camped anywhere near him, the following scream would have woken the entire campsite.

Knuckles was on his feet in an instant, rushing towards the intruder. His right fist struck forwards at snake-like speed, but the figure dodged with reflexes even faster. He swung his other arm, only to be blocked by his unknown adversary, and whirled around with a kick, which also failed to connect. Knuckles was just about to attack again, when his enemy finally shouted something.

"Stop fighting! I'm here with a kid, for Chaos' sake!"

"What?" Knuckles would have expected a lot, but not this. "Who are – WHAT!" He gasped as his nightly visitor stepped forward into the moonlight to show himself. It was none other than Prince Shadow, son of the creature who was threatening to conquer the entire free world.

"YOU! You dare show your face here?" Knuckles shouted, immediately dropping back into a fighting stance. Technically, the presence of the Crown Prince threw up a hundred questions, but the son of the Guardian was not somebody who would puzzle when there were problems at hand to be solved - preferably _with_ a hand, balled into a fist.

"I'm here on a peaceful mission. Don't make me fight you," Shadow growled back, knowing that a brawl between him and Knuckles, no matter the outcome, would shatter his entire plan.

"Your people imprisoned me. Your father is about to fling us all into an all-out war. Your family _enslaves_ half of your population!" the echidna fueled with rage accused the black hedgehog who scowled, knowing that it wasn't technically _his_ fault, but it still complicated things. Tails hid behind his back at this, whimpering at the rage of the red-furred Sapient.

"That's not me, echidna. I am just an experiment of Black Doom, not even his actual son and I have nothing to do with his dealings, no matter what it looks like on the outside. But listen, I am here because I need your help."

"My _help?" _ Now Knuckles looked even more flabberghasted than before, brain reeling from everything the night had thrown at him so far. "Do you actually know who I am? Do you know what is going to happen at any time from now? Have you gone completely insane?"

_Yes, at times I think I have. _Out loud, Shadow ignored the echidna and said: "I'm here because I need you to take this kit with you. He needs to grow up in freedom."

So saying, Shadow shoved Tails forward, the fox boy no less confused than the echidna. Both stared at each other for a second, and something seemed to shift in Knuckles' gaze. Then the echidna glanced up sharply.

"Why?" he asked, the question as quick and direct as an arrow shot. It appeared as if Knuckles for the moment was not questioning Shadow's intentions any longer, but had now decided to find out about the reasons behind them. Shadow knew that Knuckles never lied, and while the Mobius version he knew had been fooled by Robotnik in the past, the echidna had long since become a lot more shrewd. He had been naive, but never stupid. This Knuckles looked at him with dark violet eyes of a similar level of intelligence, as well as a _lot_ more experience in the ways of the world and the black hedgehog could feel that if would not speak the truth, the other might well be able to sense it. He took a deep breath.

"Because Sonic would want it."

"…Sonic?" Knuckles repeated the name, eyes narrowing.

"The hedgehog I own," Shadow stated. "He freed you from your imprisonment, as he told me. He also helped destroy a mercenary camp that held one of your young ones. I believe you believe in repaying your debts?"

"We do," Knuckles nodded. "And that debt was repaid when I let him go after my people had captured him as a spy from your kingdom. I believe he is back in your possession now?"

"Yes," Shadow nodded. "He returned to me and told me where you were. I did not reveal this information to anyone else, in case you're wondering - he did not betray your trust. But I have read up on your people, echidna. Sometimes you have been known to adopt outsiders."

"Sometimes we do," Knuckles replied cautiously. "Why this kid?"

"He is smart. He can fly. He has the makings of both a hero and scientist, and his mind is pure. All he needs is a decent home."

Knuckles cocked his head and crossed his arms. "You have snuck into enemy territory all the way from your castle in the middle of the night just to present me some prodigy pet of yours?"

"Listen, I know it sounds ridiculous," Shadow glared at the echidna. "But I told you, for various reasons this fox kit is very important to Sonic. He wants him to grow up to lead a healthy life, and this is the only place for him I can think of. You know that in Black Doom's kingdom slaves cannot by freed by means other than death."

Tails gave a little whimper at this and again bit his lower lip.

Knuckles stared at Shadow for a long moment. Then he looked at Tails, and while the kit was not able to meet his eyes, Shadow could feel that his gaze lingered on him even longer. Then:

"If I took him in, what could you give me in return?"

Shadow dropped his gaze. "…I don't have anything to give you. All I have is Sonic, and that is nothing I can give away."

The echidna frowned. "Tell me, what _is _it with the relationship between you and him? I have seen him fight, I have witnessed his temper and character. He is not broken, yet he accepts you as his Master. Why does he submit to you?"

Shadow met Knuckles' eyes, holding his gaze. "I don't know."

The echidna frowned. "Haven't you two ever fought?"

At that, the black hedgehog had to smirk. "As a matter of fact, yes. Most of our early meetings consisted of fights with no holds barred. He even defeated me once."

"He…_defeated _you?" Knuckles sounded incredulous, and Tails gave Shadow a disbelieving stare as well. "And yet he still lets you collar him like a pet?" The echidna did not seem to be able to warp his head around the concept.

Shadow merely shrugged, even though the echidna was voicing the exact thoughts the black hedgehog had thought time and time again before.

"I like to think it's because I'm not mistreating those entrusted to me."

Knuckles gave the dark-furred Prince a long, calculating stare. Then his gaze shifted to Tails.

"Let's just say I was to consider taking this one in…how would you have thought I would raise him?"

Shadow took a breath, hoping that this meant the negotiations were almost over, but also wondering what it was that Tails would need. "Teach him about dignity," he finally said, "Teach him about pride. Teach him to fight." There was a moment of silence before he spoke next. _This Tails is all alone_, echoed through Shadow's head. _This Tails will never have a Sonic to look out for him, never a Maria to love him_. Crimson eyes bored into violet.

"…make him your little brother."

For the first time in their conversation, the expressionless mask of the echidna slipped.

"_What?"_

Xxx

A Tails back on Mobius who was about four years older, was not owned by anybody and had had a very decent upbringing for the last six years, currently had entirely different problems, however.

"Please, Shadow, we freed you two from the prison cell, we have to leave Robotnik's base now…" The fox was currently tugging at the black hedgehog's arm, but it was having very little effect.

"He tried to take my pet away from me, strange two-tail! The human will PAY!"

"Master, I'm scared…" Sonic whimpered at this point and Tails very, very much wanted to agree with his apparently concussed older brother.

xxx

"You are going to return to the castle now, aren't you? To Black Doom," Knuckles asked later as their meeting was almost over, though it sounded more like a statement.

Shadow gave a curt nod. "Yes. I left Sonic there and I have to return to him. You have my word that I am not going to reveal your location or send anyone to attack you in the night."

"And what will you do when the war breaks out?" Knuckles asked flatly.

"I am not planning on fighting against you," Shadow replied. "I hold no sympathy for Black Doom and will not stand at his side."

"When I find you in battle, I may have to kill you as a member of the royal family," the echidna warned, obviously wanting to gauge the black hedgehog's reaction

The Ultimate Lifeform nodded, even though he knew that he most likely wouldn't be there anymore when that happened.

"You may try. But I would ask you to leave Sonic unharmed. I do not approve of innocent blood being shed."

The echidna inclined his head and Shadow wondered whether he had imagined a glint of appreciation in those violet eyes. "I do not approve either, Prince Shadow. Let us hope that there might yet be another way." It had seemed an insane idea, this meeting between two opposing warriors with the hope of helping a slave kit, but the tone in which those last words were said was almost enough to let Shadow feel briefly proud of himself.

"Yes," the black hedgehog merely replied, not wanting to draw out this scene any longer despite his feelings of success. "Good bye, echidna. Don't let the kit get hurt."

"We take our young to a safe place when the adults go to war. No matter how the battles may play out, you can be sure he will survive. Now farewell until we meet again."

Shadow gave a last nod to both echidna and foxlet, then made to turn around to skate back through the night as he had come. A cry from the kit stopped him.

"Ma-master! Where are you going? Please…please don't leave me, I'm scared…" he stammered, but Knuckles put a hand on his shoulder that made the fox look up.

"Don't be," the echidna said, the tone of the otherwise harsh warrior now actually laced with something approaching kindness. "Never show your fear. You will never be a scared slave again…" he murmured and reached down. Powerful red hands snapped the brittle collar around the fox' neck as carefully and effortlessly as if the leather had been dried weeds. "…my brother echidna."

The boy regarded the fragments of his choker in his hands with wide eyes. Then he raised his gaze to Shadow, who still lingered.

"He's right. I'm not your Master anymore. Now go and make Sonic proud that he's saved you, Tails."

"Is that your name?" Knuckles asked at this, noticing now that he didn't actually know it yet.

The fox kit shuffled his bare feet. "I…my first Master named me Miles. But I hated him and the name. But then the Prince's other slave, Sonic, he called me Tails. I…I think I like it much better, yeah." The fox gave Knuckles a shy smile. "It fits, doesn't it?"

The echidna returned a small grin. "I think it's a very good name for the newest member of the tribe."

Shadow breathed a sigh of relief that this had gone so well. He hoped that Sonic would be happy and understand when he returned.

"Pr-prince Shadow?" Tails suddenly called out when he had just been about to power up his skates.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. You and Sonic. For everything."

"That's okay. I'll tell him."

And with that, Shadow departed with a blazing trail through the night, leaving behind the happiest fox kit in the world and wondering what would await him when he got back.

xxx

Sonic by now had drifted into a strange world between sleep and consciousness, not able to return to either. The door opened and the blue hedgehog weakly managed to turn his head.

"Sha…shadow?" he asked, trying to summon enough strength to make his voice sound harsh and accusing, but it wouldn't quite succeed. But then, the shape that had just appeared in the doorway was not the form of the Ultimate Lifeform, either…

"Well, well, well," Lord Drago drawled. "I thought I had seen the Prince leave you alone in here."

_To be continued..._

_

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_We all looooove cliffies, right? Right? Well, I hope you liked Shadow's solo venture and I wonder whether the majority here thinks it was a good idea or not..._especially _after that last paragraph. :D Would love to hear your thoughts!


	25. Helpless

Hi there! Well, _slight _warning for violence and abuse. I suppose you could say the first section here is M-Rated, so you might want to skip it if you don't want to read it. However, not all is as bad as it seems, if I can be so cryptic. I hope you still enjoy the chapter!  


* * *

**M-RATED WARNING! SECTION START!**

**Chapter 25: Helpless**

Emerald eyes widened, but in his dizziness Sonic couldn't quite focus, wasn't even able to raise himself onto his elbows. The white bulky shape stalking toward the bed he lay on became ever clearer though, as the distance between them closed.

"Left you all alone for me to find…" the albino dingo leered at the prone hedgehog.

Sonic's stomach clenched up as adrenaline fired out of his glands and again he tried to upright himself, but his muscles felt like jelly…

"You almost broke my hip, you know. I am still in pain. And yet you still seem to have escaped any serious punishment bar that dequilling nonsense…" Drago growled, squatting in front of the bed now to bring his head and wolfish grin level with Sonic still lying on his side.

"But that stops here. I will make sure you receive your punishment. I will make sure _you'll _be the one in pain."

Sonic's breathing now came in laboured gasps as the graveness of the situation slowly began to sink in. He was virtually defenceless if he couldn't force his sedated body to move…!

Peach arms began to push against the mattress, trying in vain to get his body to sit up. He attempted to move his legs to at least roll away from the dingo, but that attempt was cut short as a muscular hand closed around his calf and forcibly dragged him back.

"Now now, escape would be useless. You know I'm stronger than you. The Prince sedated you and left you helpless," he sneered, now crawling onto the bed himself, kneeling behind a squirming Sonic on his belly.

"How…how do you know…?" Sonic wanted to ask, to distract the dingo as much as he himself didn't understand this. How could Shadow have left him here if he knew it wasn't safe?

"Slaves don't talk. Now shut up," Drago snarled, roughly grabbing Sonic's hip with both hands and pulling the trembling hedgehog form closer towards him, spreading his legs. "Pucker up, hedgehog…" he leered, saliva dripping from his bared fangs.

"N-no! Don't…!" Sonic was starting to panic now, but still his body was in this horrible unresponsive state and he couldn't move…he felt his legs being forced apart even further and something _touching _him just below the tail.

"NO! _HELP!" _

"There is no help coming, pleasure slave of the Prince…you're _mine!_" Drago roared and pushed in.

Sonic screamed. The pain was immediate and unbearable. Stretched suddenly and brutally, he felt as if he was torn apart from within, the other much too large to contain. Tears began flowing from his eyes and he started begging and pleading.

"Please! Stop it! I can't take…!" he wailed, wanting to thrash and only get away from the burning agony behind him.

Then the door opened a second time and light fell harshly into his eyes as he could only make out the silhouette of the Ultimate Lifeform standing suddenly in the door.

"_Shadow_!" Sonic screamed, immediately feeling a surge of hope and shame for being seen like this all at once. "Help me!" he cried, still convulsing from the terrible pain as the dingo now seemed to move out of him.

**M-RATED WARNING! SECTION END**

Shadow rushed over to his bedside in an instant, cradling the terrified blue hedgehog in his arms instinctively as Sonic clutched at him like a scared child.

"He…he…" Sonic managed, but his voice hitched, eyes squeezed tightly shut and face buried in white, comforting fluff.

"Sonic, what on Earth happened? What's wrong?" Shadow managed, patting the blue-furred back awkwardly, so not used to comforting another living being.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Sonic gasped, only holding on tighter for fear of the dingo snatching him away again. "You've seen what he did to me!"

"Who did what to you?!" Shadow asked, confused. "Sonic, are you alright?"

"He's right here!" Sonic shouted. "Shadow, I just got-!" he started, but then noticed certain key things. Namely, a lack of Drago. And a very sudden lack of pain. He now became acutely aware instead of the fact that they were all alone in the Prince's chambers, he was drenched in sweat and his lower body tangled hopelessly in the sheets.

And clutching a very confused Shadow.

His mind now worked very fast.

"_Your sodding sedative_!"

Shadow suddenly found himself very rudely shoved onto his backside onto the floor as Sonic apparently had come to his senses again. The blue hedgehog now looked entirely un-sedated, but instead positively livid.

"Do you know what I just went through because of you?!" Sonic shouted, trying to stand but wobbling slightly, probably the last remnants of the pill wearing off. "Do you know what could have happened while you left me here? And you took _Tails!_"

Shadow slowly climbed to his feet again, his familiar defensive attitude breaking through whenever someone shouted at him. He had no idea what Sonic's reaction just now had been. Another nightmare, perhaps? But that was no reason to just lash out at him!

"You might not have noticed, Sonic, but I locked the door! Nothing would have happened. And I took Tails for his own good!"

"How would you know what is good for him?! You don't even know him!" Sonic yelled, fists clenched. He felt like hitting Shadow, but knew that in his state this was probably not a good idea. Nevertheless, his raised quills and bared teeth spoke volumes in body language.

"We agreed on a foster family!" Shadow shot back, in no way intimidated, but feeling his own fury rise in turn. He had gone out of his way to keep that urchin safe, risked his own life and this was the gratitude he got!

"Yeah, but not this very night! And you didn't even leave me a choice in the matter!"

"You would never have let him go, Sonic! You would have kept him here until war broke out and it was too late!" Their shouting had now risen to a dangerous crescendo.

"You didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye! And what would you know of taking care of people? The last person in your care _died_!" Sonic scathed and Shadow breathed in sharply.

Silence descended. The black hedgehog opened his mouth, then snapped it shut, not saying anything in return. They both stood staring at each other, panting, the silence stretching on. Sonic briefly wondered whether he might have gone too far, but he was too angry to care. The thought occurred whether Shadow would attack him now. He usually did when somebody mentioned that Maria girl. Sonic tensed mentally, knowing that with the remnants of the drug coursing through his system, he might not be able to hold his own in a fight against the black hedgehog. Would Shadow try to punish him for real this time?

But Shadow's own thoughts were along completely different lines as he stared hard at the tensed-up blue hedgehog, expression unreadable. He was reluctant to show how much that remark of Sonic had hurt, which had lashed across his insides like a whip. It had been a low blow, but one to which he'd have thought he was immune – now he had to learn that if you loved somebody, it meant you were much, much more vulnerable to them, too, and not just in the physical sense. But had he...deserved it? he wondered. Was Sonic right? Had he done something bad because he was unable to understand what true love, like that between the two mismatched brothers, meant?

Shadow bowed his head.

"I am…sorry."

He swallowed. "I just…" _wanted to make you happy, _he wanted to say, but it wouldn't quite come out. Nevertheless, the effect had been immense, even if he couldn't see it as he stared at his feet.

Sonic had nearly dropped his jaw. Had Shadow just..._apologized? _The arms with the clenched fists fell down to his sides, the blue hedgehog, blinking, not at all sure what to do with his hands now anymore. Much like Shadow, his own mouth opened and shut, the usually flippant speedster at a loss of what to reply. The sudden apology from Shadow's side had blind-sided him, the blue hedgehog having been prepared for more shouting, for pain, for anger and helplessness...and now this.

_Then again, Shads, you at least pretty much managed the 'helpless' part. What the hell am I supposed to do now?! _

The black hedgehog was of no help at all. Shadow was still staring at the floor, not continuing his incomplete sentence, leaving Sonic the one who had to do something. A part of him wanted to reach out to Shadow, feeling a sudden stab of sympathy, but he couldn't - for once, if he tried to take a step, he wasn't sure whether he wouldn't topple to the floor but also because his pride still stung at having had his rights trampled with feet like this_. _But Shadow obviously really had been thinking he was doing him a favour and now he had apologized when he had seen that Sonic was displeased...for Chaos' sake, did he care for him or not?!

Taking a breath, Sonic decided to go for the neutral option.

"Where did you take him anyway?" he asked, crossing his arms but a bit of the anger had vanished from his voice. At that, Shadow finally looked up, blinking.

"I took him to the echidnas. I had read that they occasionally adopted outsiders and decided to give it a try. Knuckles will be a decent big brother for him."

"Woah – Knux?!" Sonic staggered. On Mobius, the echidna and the two-tail had a very good relationship with each other… "That's…not a bad choice, I guess…was Tails happy with it?"

"Yeah, The last thing he said to me was asking me to thank you for everything." Shadow nodded and Sonic at last let see a small smile.

"Good. At least that's one problem solved. I hope Tails at home is okay, too…" then his eyes abruptly narrowed again, though and he turned to Shadow once more, expression serious. "But that doesn't change a thing that I am goddamn pissed about how you handled this, Shadow. You abused my trust in you. At the moment you'll have to come up with something pretty good for me to hear or else this won't work anymore," he said, leaving it deliberately ambiguous what exactly he meant with 'this'.

The black hedgehog sighed. "Very well. I might have gone a bit too far this time. But you must know this isn't easy for me, Sonic. I haven't worked…lived together with anybody in this close proximity for a long time."

"It's not that hard," Sonic shrugged, his tone the icing on a glacier. "Not sedating people or tying them to their beds helps, of course."

Shadow glared, knowing that the blue speedster wasn't going to let him forget that anytime soon. "I know I made a mistake, Sonic, and I apologize. Now can we focus on the Emerald again?"

Sonic looked non-impressed. "What's there to focus on? In two days Black Doom's gonna give that dinner, present it to whatever big-shots he's got invited and we steal it faster than they could blink. Problem solved, we're back on Mobius and I'm my own person again."

"I hope it's going to be as easy as you think it will be." Shadow said, moving toward the bed and trying to ignore the jab, but a finger stabbing into his chest suddenly stopped him, Sonic barring his way.

"Not a chance, Shadow. After the nightmare I just had I don't want any company. You can sleep on the carpet."

"Excuse me? This is MY bed. You can sleep underneath your ring on the wall!"

"This isn't your bed, it's the Prince's, and you're an impostor," Sonic shrugged. "Of course, you're more than welcome to sleep on the side I just lay on, where the sheets are completely sweat-drenched."

Shadow touched the spot indicated and screwed up his snout in disgust. "Urgh. This reeks."

"Your choice," Sonic quipped, and stretched out on what had previously been Shadow's side, which was still more or less clean, pulling the sheets over his body.

Shadow scowled at the blue-spiked back. There was absolutely no call for this! But at the same time he couldn't help but wonder what that nightmare might have been if it let Sonic act this agitatedly…

"Fine. But I hope you know that I'm right now doing this as a favour to repay you for the sedative. Next time you try this I'm going to kick you out of the bed," Shadow grumbled, trying to get comfortable on the wooden chair at his writing desk. This was going to be one uncomfortable night…grunting, the black hedgehog settled back, casting a last glance at Sonic.

Sonic meanwhile was busy staring at the ceiling, sleepless. It wasn't easy to return to peaceful slumber after any nightmare, but right now there were just too many thoughts chasing each other around in his head. Had the horror he'd just mentally experienced any meaning to it? Generally, Sonic wasn't the kind of guy who would puzzle endlessly over some deep, potential subconscious enigma. Instead, he preferred much more to just get up and run until he found some mildly life-threatening situation that would make _sure _he took his mind off things, lest he didn't want his head removed as well. But now the collar was around his neck and he couldn't…

The blue hedgehog tossed himself onto his side again, silver moonlight falling into confused emerald eyes. This hadn't even been the first nightmare he'd had since he'd come here, right? Now that he was thinking about it, there had been another one two days ago, but he had forgotten about it until now…

There had been Shadow. And the dingo. And again, he himself, on the bed, chained and helpless…

Sonic suppressed a wince as memories of the other terrible dream flooded back into his mind. He stared out of the window unhappily. Basically, the nightmares had only told him things he'd known anyway.

_It's not good for me to live in captivity like this. _

Sonic curled up underneath the blanket and groaned, feeling all the muscles of his body flexing, aware of how useless their strength was in a dream, aware of how this world was trying to let somebody else own his body and make him submit…he wrapped his arms around himself as if that could prevent somebody else claiming him instead.

_This freaky dimension is getting to me. _

Could living like a slave let you become one?

Some part of Sonic was aware that these were merely the usual dark paths your wandering mind would take whenever you lay awake at night, whenever your silly fears and worries no longer had to hide from the light of day and reason, but at the moment that didn't help him.

Another part of him wished he could just get himself to call Shadow back to bed and curl up against him, feel safe in the arms of someone who knew he wasn't a slave, didn't treat him like one…_cared_ for him, Sonic hoped. But at the same time, he knew he couldn't. It wasn't that Shadow might not come – after all, he'd rushed to Sonic's side instantly when he had screamed for him in his nightmare – but the reason was different.

He trusted Shadow. Thought he loved him. He just wasn't sure whether he trusted him _completely_. The black hedgehog _had_ been nice to him, like he'd claimed in front of Tails – for a given, psychotic value of 'nice', anyway. Shadow's version of nice. And to Sonic, Shadow's version of 'nice' _was _nice.

A quick smile stole over the blue hero's face.

_However, _the bigger issue was that Shadow also had always done what he'd deemed _right – _and then Sonic's wishes hadn't mattered a bit. And that scared him. It wasn't that the black hedgehog had once tried to kill Sonic and to blow up the planet. Sonic knew Shadow wouldn't do that anymore. But it was that his_ ruthlessness _sometimes did not seem to have changed at all.

Shadow thought that the charade was their best option, so he'd rather fought Sonic than to release him from the collar when the blue hedgehog had returned fuming after Lord Drago had attacked him. He was still disinclined to stop Black Doom if it interfered with their plans because he thought the lives of other people here didn't matter. Finally, Shadow had _drugged _Sonic and taken his little brother away from him, just because he thought it was in the best interests of all of them.

_And because of this, I'm scared, _Sonic thought, scowling because he was Sonic the Hedgehog and not _allowed _to be scared.

_Or worried. Whatever. _

Because he couldn't help but be anxious what would happen if Shadow had the upper hand in some situation – would the black hedgehog abuse his power over him if he thought it was the right thing to do? Go against Sonic's wishes even if the blue hedgehog asked him not to? Right now he wasn't completely in the hand of the black hedgehog. Even though he was wearing the collar that marked him as his property, Sonic knew that in reality they both depended on each other and that under normal circumstances, he was more than able to stand up against Shadow. The nightmares merely resulted from his own fears what would happen if the independence and freedom he cherished so much was taken from him. If for some reason he'd ended up a true slave, owned by Shadow, his body and being belonging no longer to himself but to the person who had bought him...

_And the easiest way to avoid these fears, _Sonic reasoned, _is if I don't let myself get that close to Shadow anymore. _The mere thought hurt, but the blue hedgehog ignored it. _The less I make myself vulnerable to him, emotionally or otherwise, the better. And in two days it'll be all over, anyway. _

And even though he now felt as if something inside him was as heavy as a cement block encasing your feet, emerald eyes at last closed and the hero of Mobius and unwilling slave of the Crown Prince drifted off into dreamless sleep.

Shadow, sitting silently on the chair gave no indication whether he had noticed his azure counterpart finally falling unconscious. Instead, crimson eyes just looked on with a hint of disappointment – with himself for making Sonic mad enough to ban him from being close to him…and with the blue hedgehog as well, for not turning around and looking at him _once. _

Shadow sighed miserably, folding his arms on the writing desk and laying his head atop them.

_Maria told me that love was the greatest thing in the world. By now I'm starting to think she might have been mad._

To be continued...

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Yes. Yes, I am evil. But I gave you this update just in time for a beginning-of-Christmas-season-treat, which is nice, right? Mindrape and holidays, they go so well together. And yup, drugs can do weird things to your brain, so don't take them, not even from your genetically engineered master currently trying to pretend to be a prince. ;) Once again, thank you so much for all those comments, tho, I can't remember ever having had such an awesome readership. :D


	26. Consequences

Hi there! Well, I thought I should address a bit of the li'l drama surrounding the last chapter - first of all, thanks of course to anyone who liked the story and said so, especially the two anonymous fans and Destiny's Shadow - that's the people I write for. :) Of course, the time in between updates (to address one of their points) is also that I'm usually busy with the sonic fics on my other account, which I believe most people here know about already. ;) I didn't really feel attacked by Lord Kelvin, since he and me have different attitudes when it comes to writing which is easy to accept. I'm still unsure about the rating, since the story is mostly clean for the big part and I plan to keep it that way - also, this is still supposed to romance/adventure not angst/horror...but yeah, see how we go. For now I'll add warnings whenever there's a 'graphical' moment. Feel free to voice your thoughts on this. That's it, mostly. I apologize if I freaked out anyone unintentionally with the opening scene - I was thinking, since it turns out to be a dream, it doesn't have as big an psychological impact - but that's just me. Feel free to discuss as well. Maybe I should open a forum. XD And now, for all who have actually come to read about Sonic and Shadow, instead of me ranting, without further ado....

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**Chapter 26: Consequences**

The weather the next morning was humid, cloudy and oppressive. It seemed as if the approaching war had already pervaded the atmosphere and poisoned the sky. The two hedgehogs in their confined chamber were equally as moody and had been all morning. Shadow was cramped and aching from his night on the chair while Sonic still showed dark circles underneath his eyes, first the forced sleep from the sedative and then the nightmare and sleeplessness afterward having prevented his body from getting the rest he needed.

The chill and air moisture let their pelts stick to their bodies, adding a great deal to their irritability, as well as the sense of purposelessness while they essentially had nothing to do but wait for Black Doom's dinner.

Sonic was at the moment sitting at the table in the room, pushing Shadow's breakfast on his plate around listlessly while trying to avoid looking at Tails' empty food bowl next to his own.

"Would you stop that?" Shadow asked, scowling from where he had been leaning against the wall and staring out of the window.

"What do you care?" Sonic shot back, not looking up from the food and giving the parsnips instead a particularly vicious stab.

"I care because I have been giving up food for you for five days in a row now. You think that's fun?" the black hedgehog grunted, now openly glaring.

"Fine. Then eat this. I'm not hungry anyway," his supposed slave now shoved the entire plate away from him, the parsnip and other bits promptly falling to the floor. Sonic knew he wasn't being very friendly (or fair) at the moment, but his worry about getting too close and being vulnerable to the black hedgehog made him uneasy around Shadow, he couldn't help it. Those nightmares had freaked him out big time. Pushing Shadow away might be the best option…

"The only thing worse than not eating anything is eating very little. Makes the hunger just ten times stronger," Shadow informed him dryly. "Now clean that mess up for Greytail to take away."

"What am I, your maid?" Sonic gave Shadow a pointed look before standing up and flinging himself onto the bed again, rolling over on the mattress and locking his arms behind his head, eyes closed and legs crossed in the aloof attitude of any non-caring teenager. "Let Jet the Jerk do it, as a servant he's pretty useless anyway. Just orders us slaves about," Sonic grumbled, only internally flinching as he noticed how easily he already included himself with the pets of the royal family.

Shadow rubbed his temples, mentally imagining Chaos Blasting the entire room to calm himself down. He tried to tell himself that Sonic was just acting the way he was because of the weather, their situation and because he was still trying to cope with Tails being gone. Silently, he bent down and picked the blue hedgehog's breakfast up. Dusting his hands off, he straightened again, before forcing himself onto the unfamiliar turf of peace negotiations, a scary place the Ultimate Lifeform hadn't yet previously set foot in.

He crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling, not able to look at Sonic while he tried to find the right words. He just hoped the blue hedgehog would appreciate his effort.

"Err…hey."

"What?" Sonic asked off-handedly, not even opening his eyes.

"You're probably already feeling cooped up again," Shadow managed, voicing his first attempts ever since Maria had died to actually empathize with another living being's feelings.

"Wow. You must be Shadow Holmes," dead-panned Sonic, oblivious to the grinding of teeth of the other. Nevertheless, his black counterpart tried to ignore the jab, focusing on how much Sonic still mattered to him.

He cleared his throat, making an effort to still sound friendly. "So, how about another walk in Black Doom's park, faker? Give us both a chance to stretch our legs. _Without _Princess Amy this time."

At this, Sonic looked up. Shadow was standing there, holding Sonic's leash in his hand like an offer, and the black hedgehog actually was…

_He's actually half-smiling, _Sonic thought and had difficulty believing it. Something in him had always insisted that whenever the Ultimate Lifeform smiled, somebody must have been lying dead at his feet. _But now he's just smiling. For me. _

And then, with something tearing inside him, Sonic looked away, his face expressionless.

"I'm not your pet, Shadow. I don't need to be _walked_."

It was easier. Not having to be on the leash. Not feeling close to him. Not having to worry about being hurt.

He could feel the soft leather of the lead hitting the floor.

"I never _implied _that you were my pet, Sonic," Shadow growled. "I was just trying to be…" he stopped himself. "Forget it."

"Trying to be what, Shadow? Nice?" Sonic asked, one eye ridge raised as he had turned his head again. "Last time I checked I think you were enjoying this charade too much." He nearly bit his tongue, not really having meant to voice this last thought. Could it be true, though? Or was he thinking of himself, when he had actually _liked _Shadow tickling him, toying with him…?

"Yes, Sonic. I appreciate hugely being trapped in a foreign, psychotic dimension with no one but _you_," Shadow snapped, leaping straight into the offensive, unwilling to show a) how much Sonic's flippant manner had hurt him just now and b) that the remark had actually hit home.

"Gee, thanks. Just so you know, you wouldn't be my first choice either," Sonic shot back, lying through his teeth. "I wish Tails were here, but _somebody_ made sure he isn't. Oh wait, silly me, that was you!"

"I only wanted to-" Shadow started to defend himself, but Sonic on a rant was difficult to interrupt.

"Wonder what you would have done to me if _I _had taken this dimension's Maria away from you. Helped that nutjob dingo go through with his job?" Sonic asked, unable to keep the nightmares out of his head, even if he knew that he was talking nonsense by now. "Maybe you would have even _joined_ him, wouldn't you, you-"

"SHUT UP!" Shadow suddenly roared and the blue hedgehog fell silent, staring at the Ultimate Lifeform with wide eyes. Crimson eyes were blazing by now, his dark counterpart clenching his fists and baring his teeth. "_You _are being the most insensitive ingrate I know. Even _Tails _thanked us! Both of us! And here I am, making a fool of myself trying to be, yes, _nice_, and in return I get to listen to your invidious prattle," Shadow hissed, having to keep his voice down after his outburst but managing a particularly vicious tone nonetheless. He turned away, not looking at Sonic anymore, but glaring at the wall. "Now do what you want. I am honestly past caring."

A silence stretched between the two hedgehogs, Sonic sitting on the bed and staring at Shadow's back for a while, at a loss of what to say. He was unhappy to have upset Shadow like this – true, he had wanted to gain some distance from him to not feel threatened anymore, but not like _this! _He sighed inaudibly. He was an expert in dealing with anything from speeding pads to giant Death Eggs floating in the sky, but how to appease a disgruntled black hedgehog was not within his range of skills.

But then again, was this reaction not proof for his worries? Sonic's face creased in an unhappy frown. If Shadow could react so violently at mere verbal provocation, the black hedgehog might be very liable to actually hurt him if he deemed it necessary. _Or am I getting paranoid by now_? Sonic wondered. After all, up until last night, things had been going so much better…just when exactly had he gone from being a confident hero in love with Shadow to a scared kitten afraid of being close to him?

The blue hedgehog once again dropped his face in his hands, having no idea what to do. The silence stretched on, Shadow not looking at Sonic and barely exchanging a word with Greytail when the cat servant came to pick up the uneaten breakfast. The quiet hung in the room like the heavy clouds in the sky outside. Finally, Sonic took a breath.

"…I want a shower."

Shadow shrugged. "Fine." He opened the door and stuck his head outside. "Hey! Greytail!" he called, his tone and body language still telling the world at large that he was not in a good mood. Jet the Hawk hurried into his view.

"Yes, my Prince? I apologize, but Greytail is currently performing duties elsewhere. How may I be of service?"

"I need this slave cleaned," Shadow stated flatly, stepping back and grabbing a surprised Sonic's wrist to roughly pull him into a standing position from the bed, the azure hedgehog barely managing to bite back an annoyed exclamation.

Jet's blue eyes gave an appreciative glint as he eyed the runner's form of the supposed slave. "Why, certainly, my Prince. You want me to hose him down in the courtyard or should I wash him…_personally_?"

"Like hell you will!" Sonic shouted, at the same time yanking his wrist out of Shadow's grasp and grabbing a flabberghasted Jet by the chest feathers. "Listen, I've had it up to _here _with all of you freakin' _sickos _working in this castle! If you don't get your act straight _right now -!_" he snarled, but Shadow's hand suddenly clamped shut over his mouth like an iron vice. The black hedgehog wrested him forcefully backwards, before he with his other hand shoved Jet out of the door.

"One moment. Personal business," he informed the hawk flatly before shutting the wood in his face. Inside, Sonic found himself quickly pushed against the wall.

"What the hell was that?!" the black hedgehog hissed at him, his face only inches from Sonic's. "Fine, you don't like either this situation or me," he said, swallowing briefly, "but does that mean you have to completely wreck everything?!"

Sonic looked away, for once not struggling. "I…I just want to be able to wash on my own, s'all."

"What kind of reason is _that_?" Shadow looked at him, incredulous. Sonic scowled.

"The only one I have. And after all the kind of crap I've been going through here I think I'm entitled to at least have my shower the way I want to. And that's _not_ somebody pouring a bucket of cold water over my head outside."

"…right." Shadow released his hold, frowning. "Whatever makes you stop acting like a lunatic. I'll sort this."

He opened the door again, a still wide-eyed Jet standing in front of it. "You. Hawk," Shadow addressed him.

"Yes?!" the bird snapped to attention, still trying to overcome the shock of being attacked by a slave.

"Now _I _want to bathe. With Sonic. Go see to it that the water's heated up or whatever it is you have to do, then tell me when it's ready."

"Yes, my Prince! Of course, my Prince!" the hawk servant made to scramble away, but a black-furred arm shot out with the speed only a supersonic hedgehog was capable of and brought the green bird up short.

"Oh, and Jet…" Shadow said quietly, waiting until the hawk's blue eyes were forced to meet his crimson gaze. "…you talk about _anything _that happened just now and _you _will be my next personal slave. The fox kit didn't last very long." Shadow gave him his most cruel smirk and was satisfied to see the terror flash behind the bird's eyes. When he released the servant again, Jet departed so fast, the Ultimate Lifeform could have sworn he was using his extreme gear.

"Bathe _together?_" Sonic asked as soon as Shadow had shut the door again, not too sure what he should think of the idea. Part of him was too embarrassed for words, but the sudden heat that suddenly had settled in a certain region of his body was of an entirely different opinion…

"Well, I certainly can't order a first class cleaning session for a _slave, _can I?" grunted Shadow, still not looking at Sonic. "But just for the record, I have zero intention of sharing a tub with you. You get your bath and I get peace from your antics."

"…"

Sonic didn't know what to say. When you were relieved, how did you explain hurt and disappointment at the same time?

For some reason, it took almost an hour until the green hawk showed his beak again, a certain hustle and bustle having set in in the castle. The hedgehogs spent their time again ignoring each other, Sonic leaning on the windowsill and imagining running on the plain below…and of Shadow running with him again, not being mad at him because Sonic suddenly had to be paranoid and unfair…

Shadow in turn spent the time staring at books he'd already read and wondered whether he just wasn't _able_ to have a normal relationship instead of scaring people away, or what Maria would probably say if she saw him like this, or what the hell was taking that parrot so long with a simple bath. Neither of the hedgehogs was particularly happy or indeed got anywhere with their ponderings when finally, another knock roused them from their brooding.

"My Prince! Your bath is ready!" Jet called from outside and Shadow stood up.

"Coming!" he called out and picked up the leash again. "Get over here."

Sonic inwardly winced at being ordered about so callously. He hated things being like this between him and Shadow and now wanted to be leashed less than ever. Nevertheless, he held still as the lead was hooked into his collar and stared merely at the floor when Shadow led him outside. Jet waited for them with an entire assortment of towels, sponges and soaps in his arms. For some reason, the hawk looked exhausted.

"Please follow me, my Prince. I have everything you usually desire," he managed behind his mountain of bathing utensils and started to lead the way, Shadow falling into step behind and a leashed and moody Sonic bringing up the rear, eyes downcast and ears and tail drooping in unhappiness. Well, a cynic voice in his ear whispered, at least he finally looked like a _real_ slave.

_To be continued..._

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Aw, still no improvement? Even if it's Christmas time? Now how could these two ever possibly get together? I wonder whether a coupla comments and another week couldn't help the issue somewhat, tho....;) Thanks for reading and please review!^^


	27. Cleansing

**Chapter 27: Cleaning**

"Here we are," Jet said, somehow opening another wooden door with black crystals set in it that led into a small chamber built from white stone. It was empty apart from a curtain on the side, a marble bench on the other, and an assortment of hooks, mats on the floor and baskets in the corners.

"I fail to see any water," Shadow deadpanned. "I believe I told you I wanted a _bath _and not a tour of the storage rooms?"

"But, er, my Prince, you know that the bath is right there, surely?" the hawk asked confusedly, pointing at the curtain.

"Ah. Yes. Of course," Shadow recovered. He hadn't thought that they already had showering curtains in the medieval ages. Oh well.

"Uh, would you like me to stay or-?" Jet questioned at this but Shadow waved him off. "No. I want some private time with Sonic. You go and change the sheets of my bed."

"Certainly. I will leave your items here." The bird servant bowed and deposited the towels on the marble bench, then made to depart. "Just call me when you have finished." He opened to door and hurriedly stepped outside, obviously glad to be away from the scary Prince.

"Well. Looks like you can take your bath in private, the tub seems to be behind the curtain," Shadow said, taking off Sonic's leash and tossing it on the bench as well. "I just wonder why on Earth they took an eternity to heat a simple few buckets of water…"

Sonic didn't say anything. The hedgehog had walked up and peeked behind the curtain.

"Well, aren't you gonna get in?" Shadow asked impatiently as the blue hedgehog seemed to have been frozen in his position. "What is so goddamn fascinating about a simple tub-?" he asked, also walking up to Sonic and whisking the curtain aside. And immediately froze, too.

Behind the curtain wasn't a tub. Behind the curtain was a _hall. _

The ceiling soared high over their heads, stone arches leading into intricately painted scenes of sea battles on the plaster. The room had to be at least four thousand square metres, more than twenty metres high. Huge gothic windows let the grey sunlight stream in and gave a shine to the immaculately polished marble floor. And then, of course, there was the swimming pool.

The rock basin looked ready to hold the Olympic Games and a water polo tournament at the same time. On one end the blue seemed to be endlessly deep, on the other there were benches carved from the rock underwater, at times natural crystal gleaming in synch with the sparkling surface. And it was _steaming. _ Shadow could barely begin to conceive the incredible amount of work it had to have taken to heat all that water up and carry it here. Black Doom had to be _insane _to even conceive something as disproportionate as this.

The Ultimate Lifeform took a few slow steps inside the room, craning his neck to take in all the alien statues, frescoes and decorations. He sat down on one of the broad, long windowsills, relishing the cool breeze with all that warm steam in the air. Sonic had followed him into the room, his steps just slightly more hesitant than Shadow's. The black hedgehog wondered whether he imagined the sudden anxious appearance of his supposed pet. The blue hedgehog did not seem too happy with all this luxury.

Shadow drew up his legs on the sill and leaned with his back against the side of the broad stone frame.

"Black Doom's a bathing nut. Who would have thought. I guess you can knock yourself out."

"Uh…" Sonic mumbled, not really looking at Shadow. The blue hedgehog approached the edge of the water slowly, getting down on his knees to look into the pool with his face a mask of unease.

"What's the matter, not big enough for you?" Shadow asked sarcastically, a note of annoyance creeping into his voice again.

"I, uh, I actually wanted a shower…" Sonic managed, backing away from the water again.

"Yeah, last time I read up on it they didn't have plumbing yet in the middle ages," Shadow remarked dryly. "Why do you even care?"

"Or, or a small tub…" Sonic mumbled, apparently not having heard him. "Not…a giant _pool…_"

"Faker, it doesn't _matter," _Shadowsnapped, getting impatient. "We went here because you reek and now you're going to get in there, so _move_ it."

"…yeah. Right." Sonic finally said, shaking his head as if in an effort to pull himself together. Gingerly, he began to remove his gloves and shoes, carefully putting them in a neat pile next to him. Completely bare now but for the collar, he stood facing the water, breathing hard.

"Errm, Shadow," he managed after a couple of moments, "I think after all I might prefer the bucket of water in the courtyard, could we-?"

"What?"

Sonic turned around. His eyes widened. Shadow also had discarded his gloves and skates, only wearing his golden rings around his wrists and ankles, the bracelets oddly loose without the cuffs beneath them.

"What are you doing?" Sonic finally managed, staring at the black hedgehog before him.

"What does it look like, ten-pin bowling?" Shadow raised an eye ridge at his supposed slave. "With that steam here my fur is so drenched it hardly matters whether I take a bath or not. And I think after a night on a stiff wooden chair I can use it. Now are you going in or not?"

"Errm, I'd rather not."

"Sonic, there's lots of space for both of us. You don't have to be anywhere near me."

"I, uh, I still don't want to."

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "You're not serious."

"I _really_ don't feel like bathing any more, Shadow," the blue hedgehog raised his voice and the Ultimate Lifeform wondered whether he actually detected a note of nervousness in there.

"Faker, do you have any idea through how much irritation and insanity I went through this morning just because _you _wanted a bath? You almost blew our pretence in the process. I am warning you, I am _not _in a good mood and the last thing I want today is getting back to our dorm with you _still _stinking." The black hedgehog advanced on his blue counterpart, aware of how insecure he, too, felt without his hoverskates. If Sonic wanted a fight over this matter, though, he didn't care. The blue hedgehog was going under. Strangely enough, though, the blue hero of Mobius did not look cocky at all, only very, very nervous.

"Shadow, no, let's not-"

"Stop whining." The black hedgehog strode past his supposed slave, again grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him toward the edge of the pool. His superior strength let Sonic stumble forward.

"NO! Let me go!" Sonic yelped, all at once wide-eyed and panicky. The blue hedgehog was now straining against Shadow's grip, pulling away from the pool like an animal scared of fire. Shadow wasn't having any of that, however.

"You _wanted _to take a bath, now you're going to take one!" Irritated, he grabbed for the blue hedgehog's other arm and yanked it in front of him, Sonic bending forward as he tried to keep his balance, thereby offering his collar up for Shadow to get a hand in. The black hedgehog's fingers closed securely around the leather, immediately winning the upper hand. He took another step forward, his other hand holding his supposed pet on his back fur, Sonic by now squirming like a wild cat.

"_No_!"

"I don't get why the hell you're making such a big deal out of this," snarled Shadow, the pair now inches from the edge of the pool and Sonic was desperate. This was his nightmare come true. Shadow couldn't see his end of things and he had no mercy…he was going to go through with this and in his grasp Sonic couldn't do anything, if he tried to fight back, they would just end up toppling into the water anyway…at this point he was truly Shadow's slave now, completely at the mercy of his Master. He could feel tears shooting into his eyes, unable to stop them.

"Please! I'm begging you! _Don't do this to me_!"

"…what?" Shadow paused where he had just been about to shove the other into the water. That cry just now had sounded so desperate and it had cut straight into his heart. Suddenly, Sonic was crying into his fur, clinging to him just like last night. What the hell was going on? Why did the blue hedgehog suddenly have a nervous breakdown? The irrational desire to get him into the pool vanished as suddenly as it had come in the middle of their struggle. It probably had been just an instinctive reaction to Sonic's resistance, anyway. Now the Ultimate Lifeform was left flabbergasted, encircling the weeping younger hedgehog with his arms, trying to calm him by awkwardly rubbing his back.

_Chaos, what a morning. _

It seemed to Shadow that everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong. They had been arguing all the time, Sonic had been a flippant jerk, he himself had been a _bossy_ jerk, they had ended up at a giant alien swimming pool when he didn't even _like _water and now for some reason he had made Sonic cry.

_I think I need a shrink when this is over. Or better yet, double scotch. _

"Oh no, don't cry," he tried, not at all sure what you said when you tried to calm your self-declared archrival down. He tried to remember the tone Maria had used when he had been upset as a kid…

"Nobody will make you go into the water, okay? It's alright." He rubbed the hitching sides of the blue hedgehog some more, imagining the hyperventilating breathing became already calmer. "I, er, didn't mean to upset you. For Chaos' sake, Sonic, what do you want me to _say_?!"

"Sha-Shadow…" Sonic finally managed, relaxing a bit more into the grip of the other.

"Yes? Are you okay now?" Shadow took both of Sonic's shoulders into his hands, holding the younger hedgehog who was now limp in his grasp a bit more away from him so he could look into his face. Emerald eyes were wide and fearful, the edges still glistening with tears, the tan chest still rising and falling quickly as witness of the panic attack the hero of Mobius had just suffered. Sonic's hands grabbed for Shadow's arms holding him, his eyes still searching the face of the black hedgehog as the pair shared a moment of silence at the edge of the pool, neither sure now how to act.

Finally, Sonic dropped his gaze but made no move to break Shadow's hold on him.

"I…yeah. I'm okay now." He looked over his shoulder as he said this, but the mere sight of the pool already let a shudder run through the lithe body again. Shadow instinctively tightened his grasp and wanted to pull Sonic closer protectively, but the blue hedgehog merely winced at the increased pressure and stiffened in his hold again, showing he was still far from okay.

"Sonic, what happened?" Shadow asked quietly, patting his upset pet gingerly on the back.

"I…I'm afraid of water," Sonic mumbled, not meeting Shadow's eyes. "I can't even swim."

Now that his outburst was over, Sonic felt the hotness of shame welling up in his cheeks. He had been _crying _in front of Shadow, right after admitting his biggest fear. Trying to muster up at least some kind of dignity again, he wanted to wipe at his eyes, but found that he couldn't. On impulse, Shadow had suddenly drawn him into a hug.

Emerald eyes widened as the black one suddenly cradled him, aware of how their chests were touching, Shadow's white fur tickling him on his neck and his own head tugged away on the midnight hedgehog's shoulder.

"It's okay, Sonic," he heard Shadow murmur into his ear, "It's not deep at our end. I will not let you drown."

"That's not it, Shadow." Sonic sighed, slowly relaxing into the unfamiliar sensation of being held. It was beyond strange. He had thought Shadow didn't care and now he was _comforting_ him and being…. nice…"My fear is not rational, it's a phobia. I'm an aquaphobe. I don't even like bathtubs. I just need to see huge bodies of water and it sets me off, it don't matter how deep they are. It's like someone afraid of spiders, or being outside, or, I dunno, dust." He was glad Shadow couldn't see his flushed face right now. The only one he'd ever told about this childish fear he was powerless against was Tails. Sonic the Hedgehog was not used to anybody seeing him terrified like this, least of all Shadow.

"Are you still afraid now?" the black hedgehog asked, not letting go.

"No…now it's okay…" Sonic moved a little bit, feeling the sudden need to nuzzle his supposed Master. For some reason, being held like this was…oddly nice…comforting…it made him feel safe. But he still restrained himself from burying his muzzle in the black fur, because he didn't want to freak Shadow out…and he didn't want the black hedgehog to let go of him yet. Sonic was happy at the moment. Shadow had shown he cared for him. Had not made him do anything he didn't want to. Had shown understanding instead. Suddenly the idea of being owned by the black hedgehog did not seem that terrifying after all…

"That's good. That means we can get you in the water now."

"What?" Sonic tried to take a step backwards to look into Shadow's face, not believing what he'd just heard, but black hands held fast on his upper arms, so he only managed to get their faces a mere foot apart.

"You heard me," Shadow said, but his face held a smile. "You came here to get a bath and now I will help you with it."

Sonic's face showed the tiniest of frowns. "But…you saw just now that I can't even take a single step towards it. How will you-?"

At this point, Shadow simply scooped him up in his arms.

"Wha-HEY!" Sonic protested, gasping in surprise. Suddenly he lay in the black hedgehog's arms limply like a child, the Ultimate Lifeform carrying him easily. "Shadow, let me down!"

Sonic struggled to get out of his grasp, but only managed to sit a little bit more upright. "I mean it!"

"You said you felt safe with me, right?" Shadow asked, looking directly into worried emerald eyes. "I'm going to carry you into the shallow water and I won't let you drop. I promise."

"I…" Sonic could feel his systems going haywire. He was terribly embarrassed to be carried like this, embarrassed because he had freaked out in front of Shadow and embarrassed to actually _enjoy _being held by the black hedgehog, still nervous as hell about the water but couldn't bring himself to let go.

Shadow still seemed to hesitate, though. The black hedgehog breathed in, once more looking at his charge in his arms.

"…you _do _want to go in there, right? I mean. I can help you. But only if you want to. I'm…not going to try and force you again, that was…wrong."

Sonic shifted again awkwardly in the arms of his supposed Master, who now seemed to be staring at the ceiling rather than at his wayward slave. It hadn't been an actual apology, but then again, it was entirely possible that Shadow apologizing twice in 24 hours would have let the universe explode, Sonic mused. But the intent was clear – the black hedgehog had realized that his actions both the night before and now had disturbed Sonic and now he was trying to make up for it, by asking permission before he did anything to him…a brief surge of happiness washed through Sonic as he could feel the weight of worry about their relationship lift from his chest as if vaporizing with the water steam. He tried his best to nod.

"…yeah. Wrong. But, I think, like this, we can try…"

"Okay," Shadow merely replied, one more curious look down at his supposed pet before he began to step toward the basin.

It was weird. His resentment toward Shadow seemed to have vanished. Maybe because it hadn't been resentment toward the black hedgehog as such, but rather anger born from fear, the worst one there was, because it was irrational…but now it had been confronted with an even _bigger _fear, his real phobia of water and Shadow had helped him, even after all the things Sonic had thrown at his head. That had built trust. Sonic knew he wasn't a psychologist, but he couldn't explain his change of mind otherwise. _And_ he knew he actually loved Shadow. His reaction to the hug had proved it only yet again. Maybe there was a chance that they could still be…

He breathed in sharply as he could hear the faint splash of first Shadow's left, then right foot breaking the surface of the water and stepping into the pool. This was it. There was no escape now. The black hedgehog descended the stairs and the water rose…Sonic involuntarily yelped as first his tail and then his backside were suddenly submerged in hot, steaming liquid. He instinctively squirmed and curled into Shadow holding him, panic overriding any sense of dignity he might have wanted to hold on to. The water still continued to rise until Shadow was submerged to the chest and Sonic up to his shoulders, still clinging to the torso of the black hedgehog. The wetness was making their fur slick against each other and Sonic could feel the heat spreading through his body, his heart pounding loud enough that the other simply had to hear it. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut in his fear, Sonic only able to concentrate on the comfortingly solid body he could cling to. With his vision disabled, it was as if he was all the more aware of the other's presence, smelling the intoxicating fragrance of his fur, feeling the thick pelt underneath his fingers…he was becoming dizzy from the rush of being this close to Shadow despite his undignified position. The black hedgehog made his way slowly through the basin to the side with the bench underwater and then sat down, Sonic coming to sit on his lap, still not opening his eyes, trying to breathe steadily.

"That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Shadow asked, for the first time his voice actually sounding gentle. Sonic opened his eyes, staring into Shadow's red irises as his fingers were still clawing into the Ultimate Lifeform's shoulders.

"No…" Sonic managed.

Shadow thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. In fact, the black hedgehog had difficulty controlling himself at this point. Sonic's entrance was hovering directly over his groin area now, the water smoothing them together and Sonic squirming ever so slightly in his grasp…the black hedgehog only barely prevented his breathing from becoming ragged. He really, really didn't want to scare Sonic at this point.

"Hmm…maybe you want to sit beside me now?" he ventured and the hero of Mobius immediately seemed to blush.

"Err, yeah! Course!" he garbled out quickly, clumsily moving off Shadow, mentally already berating himself for ever having stupidly stayed sitting on him in the first place. He slid onto the bench next to the black hedgehog, still feeling rather uneasy for being submerged in water but coping so far with Shadow close by. Settling finally into place, Sonic sighed.

"Jeez, what a circus. I _hate _water. I guess I should thank you, though."

"My pleasure," Shadow replied easily and Sonic glanced up sharply, wondering whether he had imagined the slight seductive tone, but the black hedgehog only gave him his trademark smirk. They stared at each other again, then minutely moved closer…

Sonic stood up abruptly. "Right! I should get myself clean now!"

Shadow, who for some reason briefly had been hearing strange voices shouting 'Kiss! Kiss! Write it already, you sodding procrastinator of an author!', merely nodded, a bit taken aback.

"…sure. You do that. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I guess I can stay in the shallow parts…" Sonic mused, surveying the pool and the water level. Then, despising himself, he still couldn't help but giving one last glance at Shadow over his shoulder. "…will you look out for me, though?" he asked, hating how vulnerable that made him sound. To his relief, though, Shadow merely gave him a nod with an almost friendly twitching of the lips.

"No worries. Won't leave you out of my sight."

"Makes you sound more like a stalker, if you ask me," Sonic retorted, already managing a weak smirk again. Shadow raised an eye ridge.

"Get the soap and get to work on yourself or else _I'll_ be forced to clean you," he threatened. "And I have the advantage here, because _I _can swim," he added smugly. The little fact that the only swimming style the Ultimate Lifeform had ever mastered was the doggy paddle, Sonic didn't need to know, in Shadow's opinion.

"Yeah, right. You know, they probably wouldn't have needed to heat the water first with all the hot air you're spouting," Sonic shot back, but it was said with a grin and the joyful sparkle in his eyes Shadow loved to see so much. The black hedgehog merely grunted in return and then proceeded to chase his non-compliant slave off with a well-placed splash that made Sonic yelp but at least he finally collected the soap from the poolside and began to wash.

Shadow sighed, settling back against the wall of the pool and letting himself soak in the hot water, feeling his body relax and his eyelids sink down halfway. He was content.

A couple metres away, Sonic in ankle-deep water was busy lathering his blue fur, running his hands through his sleek spines and his fingers down tan arms. And Shadow had to admit he _liked _the sight intensely. Sonic was completely immersed in his task and seemed to have forgotten about Shadow completely…he didn't act abashed in the least. Shadow had always loved that about his blue rival – the fact that Sonic just seemed to feel totally at ease in his own body. He had the toned muscles of an acrobat (and an ego that needed its own zip code) and was always acting just naturally. Most people were often so stiff, shy or artificial, a habit the Ultimate Lifeform who appreciated directness found annoying, but Sonic…even now, he wasn't squirming, or acting embarrassed because he knew he was being watched, but just moved with his usual grace, displaying his beautiful body for the world to see with the self-confidence of a skilled fighter.

Shadow had to groan just slightly as the blue hero then closed his eyes and _stretched, _every sleek muscle outlined underneath wet and clinging fur. For a moment, the black hedgehog considered jumping him then and there, and to hell with the Emerald.

He bit down on his tongue to distract himself, but _now _Sonic was rubbing his torso, lathering up his chest and trailing fingers over his soaked fur, still oblivious to his surroundings, and Shadow thought that if he didn't stop staring right now, other things than just the water temperature would rise.

A small whimper escaped his throat as Sonic then bent over to scrub his legs and Shadow finally had to squeeze his eyes shut and think of strictly non-arousing things – like igloos. And icicles. Wait, bad idea. Igloos were better. And Professor Gerald. And Professor Gerald in an igloo. He tried to breathe deeply.

On the other side of the pool, Sonic straightened and sneaked a glance over at Shadow – yet the Ultimate Lifeform was paying no attention at all to him, only relaxing with closed eyes. Sonic frowned.

He had stretched, lathered, _and_ swallowed his pride and bent over, so what was he doing _wrong _to make that damn hedgehog fall for him?!

_To be continued..._

* * *

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everybody. :)


	28. Will you be mine?

**Chapter 28: Will You Be Mine? **

Shadow cautiously quirked an eye open as faint splashing noises signaled the return of Sonic to his side. The blue hedgehog now smelled of fresh leaves and hay from the soap, his fur once more clean and shining after he had rinsed himself off. Still moving gingerly in the unfamiliar wet element, Sonic finally settled down next to his supposed master, kneeling sideways on the stone bench and laying his head on his arms on the edge of the pool.

"'m done," he announced to the world at large. "Dropped the soap, though, so you may hafta go for a dive if you want to wash."

"It's generally unwise to 'drop the soap', Sonic, didn't you know that?" Shadow drawled and had the reward of a brief jab into his ribs from his unwilling pet.

"Shadow, Tails almost ended up having that done to him. _Not_ funny," Sonic protested and the black hedgehog held up his hands in defence.

"All right, all right. Are you at least feeling better now?"

"Yeah…" Sonic sighed, letting the hot water work on him, relaxing slightly more. He laid his head on the side, now looking up at Shadow. "But…could you take off my collar now, at least? It's soaked."

Shadow shook his head. "No. Reason, if I ever do that I'd have a hell of a time to get it on you again."

"Urgh," Sonic complained, twisting on the bench again. "I hate that thing, though, it's _way_ too tight."

Shadow hesitated a moment before answering. "…I know." Then he smirked. "Yet I would say it suits you."

"Gee, thanks, Shads," Sonic replied dryly. "I sometimes think a lampshade would be the look for you, but do I ever make you wear one?" he asked, trying to cover up the sudden flush he'd felt again as Shadow had commented on his appearance.

The black hedgehog raised an eye ridge. "I believe the agreement was you get your bath and I get my peace?"

"What's the matter, run out of comebacks, my Master?" Sonic gave him another cheeky grin, but then finally leaned back again and curled up on the bench as best as he could, now also trying to get some relaxation.

Shadow shook his head. The day he'd be able to get some obedience out of Sonic would be the day Robotnik proposed to the blue hedgehog...(Which actually wouldn't be that surprising any more, really. After the latest creation of the megalomaniac scientist had been the 'Egg Dealer', a slot machine robot that had been designed in a way it exploded when Robotnik sat in it, Shadow thought his schemes could only become _more_ insane.)

Now, though, the Ultimate Lifeform was perfectly content to just lay an arm around a half-conscious Sonic curled up next to him, the heat having made the blue speedster so drowsy he didn't object, and stay there forever, both their heads side by side.

It wasn't even long until the blue hedgehog started to breathe more deeply, a sign he had genuinely nodded off…Shadow smiled, gently slid his arms underneath his pet again and carried a dozing and docile Sonic out of the water before it would become too cold.

xxx

"Hmm?" Sonic blearily opened his eyes, blinking a couple times after the warm embrace of the water seemed to have left him. He returned to consciousness to find himself lying on one of the woven proto-deckchairs close to the pool, a towel covering his body like a blanket. A soft, padding tread reached his ears just as Shadow came through the curtain again.

"Awake again?" the black hedgehog asked lightly, not yet wearing his gloves or shoes, but merely a towel around his waist, a habit, Sonic suspected, he might have picked up growing up among humans on that crazy space station he came from. His fur looked dried, but still damp, an indication it couldn't have been that long since he left the water.

"How did I get out of the pool…?" Sonic frowned, sitting up and using the towel to begin to dry himself off.

"Same way you got in there," Shadow replied easily. "I carried you."

"Ah," Sonic managed, not entirely sure how to reply to that. Strange that that idea didn't make him feel awkward anymore... "How long was I out?"

"Not long. Maybe twenty minutes," Shadow shrugged, sitting down next to him. "Just long enough for me to run back to the Prince's room and get something."

"You were running around the castle with a towel round your waist?" Sonic asked, a cheeky grin already gracing his face again. "Must've been a sight to see for the cleaning maids. _Or_ some of the male personnel, come to think of it," he added with a slightly less amused tone.

"If you've got to know, I put on my skates earlier and then went for another swim while you were snoozing on the chair," Shadow explained dryly, smoothing down some unruly black fur on his right shoulder as he spoke. "Don't you want to know why I went back?"

"I do, but I figure it's more fun to annoy you by not asking when you obviously want me to," Sonic replied with his most brilliant smile, snickering as the black hedgehog glared.

"Funny. No, Sonic, the reason why I went back was you. Or more accurately, something you said," Shadow said, his tone serious now, and suddenly his face was already close to Sonic's again, red eyes boring into surprised emerald ones. "Can you guess?"

"Wha…?" the blue hedgehog instinctively leaned backwards on his hands, Shadow now almost hovering over him. "No, why…?"

"Well, you said _this_ was far from comfortable, right?" Shadow asked, his voice suddenly light again and expression relaxed. His left index finger came up to tap Sonic lightly on the throat where the choker encircled his neck and the blue hedgehog almost gagged in reaction. The Ultimate Lifeform's eyes gleamed amusedly again. "In fact, you've complained about it every single day since we came here."

"Well, yeah, it _is_ kinda tight, but it's not like I had a choice…" Sonic managed, rubbing awkwardly over his own collar. "What are you driving at _now_?"

"Well, my precious pet," Shadow smirked, one hand reaching into black quills to pull something out. "While you were running around freeing echidna kids, I found something at the market."

"Oh, great," replied Sonic, eying the item in Shadow's hands with all the enthusiasm of a candy-addict getting handed a carrot. "You bought another collar. Yay. Let there be cake for all."

"Will you take a closer look, please?" Shadow dead-panned as a reply, apparently slightly annoyed by his supposed slave's lack of rejoicing. "It's not like the one you're wearing now."

He held up the leather collar for proper display. "For one, it's a bit wider so you should feel more comfortable wearing it," he explained. "_Also_, and this is the important bit, you remember about the colour-coding, yes?"

"Yeah," Sonic replied darkly, looking away. "Green for kitchen slaves, blue for cleaning slaves and red for…slaves like me," he finished awkwardly, not wanting to be reminded of that subject.

"Exactly." Shadow nodded. "Now, I inquired at a collar stall about other colours and chose this one," he said, handing Sonic the choker which the blue hedgehog now noted to be black with printed red, tribal-like swirls on it. He raised an eye ridge.

"What, a collar for emo slaves?"

"Faker, you want to take a ride into that pool again?" Shadow asked calmly, having the satisfaction to see the other momentarily pale. "No, of course it's not. The red signifies what you already know, _however_, the black designates you _personal _property. Meaning, nobody may use you but me. That should give you some peace."

"Right…" Sonic stared at the choker he was supposed to be wearing, his stomach feeling curiously knotty. Trying not to blush when he looked at Shadow, he asked: "But was the red _really_ necessary?"

"Why, you mind?" Shadow gave him another one of those infuriating self-confident smirks and Sonic had trouble to keep a straight face. Fortunately, the black hedgehog soon continued in a more neutral manner.

"Well, actually, there wasn't much choice. Black apparently always goes in combination with another colour and red seemed to be the most common one. Mind you, there also always was the combination of black and violet, but that would have meant you being breeding stock."

"Rghl," Sonic said very coherently, before violently shaking his head. "Chaos, this is so wrong. I swear, if Black Doom doesn't have this Emerald at the dinner, I'm going to strangle the guy with my own hands."

"Would you want to wear this one, though?" Shadow asked, getting their conversation back on topic. "I could switch them now."

"Err…" the blue hero looked at the leather circlet lying on his palm. It felt soft enough…and really, it didn't matter what it stood for, right? Because he _wasn't _a slave. He was free.

_The only thing__s that actually bind me to him are chains of rather insane, unrequited love, _Sonic mused. _As sad as that is_, _it doesn't really matter whether I got a collar round my neck or not. _

But still, the actual physical sensation of being marked as his property…the blue hedgehog sighed. There was a part of him that rebelled, of course. But another part enjoyed this sense of belonging, no matter the price…liked the idea of Shadow caring for him…didn't mind submitting at times if he got the fun of a good fight first…and if he let Shadow put that collar on him now, that would make it final. He would admit to himself that somewhere he actually wished to be Shadow's pet.

Sonic gritted his teeth.

"Okay. Do it."

Feeling the heat rushing into his cheeks as Shadow wordlessly took the collar back and proceeded to open it, he hurriedly added: "The water's soaked this stupid thing anyway. If it gets any tighter when it dries, I'll choke before we ever find that Emerald. So, if you don't wanna hafta explain _another_ mysteriously disappeared slave, you better be quick."

The black hedgehog let hear a small snort.

"Yeah, right. Just tilt your head forwards so I don't impale myself on your quills."

Sonic did as asked, still feeling awkward as hell for no reason. His flippant remarks always worked for him to feel as if he was controlling a situation at least a _little _bit, but inside, his intestines were still playing Rollercoaster Tycoon IV. He reflexively stiffened as suddenly his old collar loosened and dropped away, his neck freed for the first time in five days. A small voice also told him that now he also was completely naked in front of Shadow, but a louder voice then told that small voice to stuff it, because it was making next to _no_ sense and Sonic was feeling skittish enough as it was.

Sonic rubbed his neck absentmindedly, feeling where the tight choker had left his fur matted and flat. It was an odd sensation, not wearing the collar any more…the blue hedgehog wasn't sure whether he felt freed or abandoned.

_Abandoned. Seriously. Sonic the Hedgehog, you spent your life fighting guerrilla wars on your own ever since you were twelve, and now you feel 'abandoned'. This is about as believable as your average used-car vendor. _

…_do I actually want the collar back? _

Behind his back, Shadow cleared his throat loudly.

"…actually listening to me?"

"What_?_!" Sonic jerked upwards, throwing a glance over his shoulder. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'Are you actually listening to me?'. Because if you don't take your hand from your neck I can't put the new collar on you and you promised you'd wear it," Shadow frowned. "It's only for two more days, Sonic. I'm sure you can handle that."

"Uh, yeah…sure!" Sonic quickly agreed, before turning around and lowering his head again, trying to get his heart to beat a little bit slower. This afternoon was pretty quickly starting to become adrenaline overkill – which was a bit strange, considering no-one had even tried to actually kill him yet.

Shadow's hands reached around his neck and he could feel the soft leather of the new choker laying itself around his throat. He swallowed as it made contact with his skin and relaxed only the tiniest bit when the lock finally clicked shut and he could feel how the new collar still fit snugly, but was nowhere near as tight and uncomfortable as the old one Greytail had put on him had been.

"Right. Okay for you?" The Ultimate Lifeform asked with a bit more concern than his usual uncaring attitude. Sonic nodded, reflexively running a hand over the new choker, remembering how Lazar would have him whipped right there for that act of disobedience that yet came so naturally. Sonic shuddered inwardly, wondering how any of the other slaves never once rebelled if their Masters treated them that badly.

"Uh-huh. It is, err, a nice collar. I guess."

Shadow snorted. "Never thought I'd hear you say _that_, faker. Now, how about that walk in the park?"

"I'd prefer a _race _in the park, but I guess we have to make do with what we got," Sonic replied, still feeling a bit weird after being collared by Shadow again. "Let's grab some food before we go, though."

"Sure." Shadow rose from the bench they were sitting on and picked up Sonic's gloves and shoes, throwing them over to him. "Get dressed and we can leave this ocean disguised as a bathtub for Lazar to clean up," he smirked and Sonic couldn't help but grin in return.

When they were on their way back to the Prince's dorm a few minutes later, Shadow noticed that a lot of the nobles they passed now looked at them with a lot less disapproval. A quick glance at Sonic surprised him, but explained this:

The blue hedgehog now was walking in a lot less fidgety and displeased manner. Rather, he appeared significantly more relaxed and thoughtful to Shadow – his hands were meekly clasped behind his back as he trotted along on the leash, ears and tail drooping and shoulders for once not squared in challenge, but all fight gone from his stance. To Shadow it was clear that Sonic just felt at ease at the moment or was pondering something, but apparently the casual observer was led to believe that the blue hedgehog was finally tame and docile - broken. Nevertheless, Shadow enjoyed seeing Sonic like this for once and they arrived at their dorm without any interruption.

"Pondering something?" Shadow asked casually as he released his pretend pet again and Sonic gave him an absent-minded look.

"Me? No. No," he replied, letting himself crash down onto the bed while Shadow disposed off the old red collar and decided to leave Sonic be if he didn't want to tell him. He liked the idea of being able to claim that beautiful body as his, but wouldn't want to intrude into Sonic's mind if the other wished for some privacy.

"Lunch should be here soon," the Ultimate Lifeform announced and seated himself on the bedside with his back to the prone Sonic. "I really should get someone to clean my skates, too, but these medieval idiots would probably completely wreck them…" he muttered, starting to wipe the dirt from the city out of the jets on the underside of his shoes.

The blue hedgehog only stared at the back quills of his supposed Master, still not able to solve what puzzled him so.

Why?

_Why would I enjoy __the thought of being his pet?_

Moreover, how _could_ he even be one?

He was Sonic the Hedgehog. Mobius' hero and protector, and he _loved_ his adventurous lifestyle. People said he was like the wind – wild and wandering, free-spirited and roaming, untamed and carefree…

His gaze fell onto the empty food bowl of Tails.

_Carefree_…

…except he wasn't, was he?

_Everyone always depends on me. All the time. _

He often didn't think about it like that, but…

_It's true. I mean, __if you look at it you could say I have a lot of responsibility, even if Knucklehead wouldn't see it. I don't mind it as such, but…_

He had to keep everyone safe.

In the end, it was always him who had to save the day, Mobius' first and last line of defence. When Robotnik (or whoever was the current Lunatic Of The Week) attacked, he had to go in headfirst. Never waver, never falter in the slightest. Never make a wrong decision because it could be his last.

He _liked_ it, of course. The thrill of brushing death like a butterfly's wing, living life like a dance on the edge of a blade, feeling every fibre of your being because you never knew whether you would still be alive in a moment…

...not to mention the ego boost of seeing his picture on the front page the next day.

But Sonic also knew that if anyone got hurt because he hadn't been strong enough, fast enough, _good _enough, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Yet being with Shadow…it was different. He could remember when they had fought on the same side for the very first time against the Biolizard, how exhilarating it had been to go into combat together with someone who was his equal and no one he had to worry about getting hurt. He had known that if he ran out of rings, Shadow would let him collect new ones, if he got hit, Shadow would be there to take over…

And the Ultimate Lifeform could also fight alone.

Sonic recalled the final battle with Black Doom back in their own world. When the alien conqueror had transformed into Devil Doom, Sonic, for the first time ever, had been forced helplessly onto the sidelines, terrified because he wouldn't be able to stop him and Mobius would fall...

When Shadow had defeated the alien overlord single-handedly, Sonic had been so relieved he would have hugged the black hedgehog right then and there.

Except, of course, for that being-tossed-across-the-room –bit.

Come to think of it, that might have been what had started his fascination with the black hedgehog back then in the first place - suddenly, he had found himself hanging around him more and more often, challenging him to fights and races…

He rolled himself over to one side, so that he now lay curled up against the back of the sitting Shadow, carefully arranged in a way that it could _just_ have been accidental. Sonic for a moment wished he could lay his head into the black hedgehog's lap, but to label _that_ as a coincidence might have been a bit tricky. Fortunately the Ultimate Lifeform did not seem to mind the contact thus far.

Thinking of Shadow as his Master, he felt…at ease…

For once, he didn't have to be anything. Shadow loved (well…make that 'tolerated') him as he was and as long as he played his role, there were no responsibilities. He had to be nothing but a pet, pretend lover and friend. Shadow was taking care of everything…and Sonic had been surprised to find he liked the submission in a curious way, not always having to be the leader, only rebelling at first because it had been so unfamiliar, like a scalding hot bath that was only uncomfortable until you had adjusted to it and you could enjoy it. Of course, he would never have tolerated being the black hedgehog's slave if he had abused him in any way, but Shadow had treated him well (apart from a few…incidents…) and Sonic liked being around him. He knew of course, that he would not be able to stay on Shadow's leash forever, merely a pet and plaything, but while it lasted it was a nice break from their chase for the Emerald…

"There's horse excrement. In my hover skates. Can you believe it? Horse excrement," Shadow commented quite surrealistically at this point, bringing him back into the present.

"Really? Let me have a look at them," Sonic replied in a flash of inspiration, getting up on all fours on the bed and then draping his torso in Shadow's lap, taking the hover skate out of his gloved hands and pretending to give it a thorough inspection.

"Yup. Seems to be genuine 'horse excrement' to me. Wanna take bets on what kind of colour the horse was?" he twisted a bit, so he now lay on his back and could grin up at Shadow, who still seemed a bit surprised to find himself with an amused Sonic halfway lying on his legs and halfway on the bed. Shadow snatched the skate back.

"You. Down," he ordered with mock severity.

"Aww, Shads, come on, I'm not your dog." Sonic wriggled a bit to get comfortable, being very careful that his head quills wouldn't cut the other.

"Down, or I'll think about this having you doused in the yard idea," Shadow threatened with a smirk that let his hedgehog incisors glint menacingly.

"Nawww, you wouldn't do that to your poor, defenceless slave, would ya?" Sonic gave him a bright grin, lacing his hands behind his head. He enjoyed joking around like this with Shadow immensely, and wished nothing more than that it could go further than that…but at the same time, he was way too nervous to actually take a step in this direction. He was terrified of the idea of even admitting to Shadow that he liked him a bit more than just a friend and good-natured rival, never mind telling him that he was beginning to realize he enjoyed their little charade a little bit more than he should…

_How on Mobius does Amy make this love-confessions business look that easy?_

"Have you forgotten what I did to you already when you disobeyed?" Shadow raised an eye ridge as he smirked down at Sonic, all at once that wicked sparkle in his eyes the blue hedgehog had already learned to fear…right before Shadow dropped the skate to run both his hands over the fur covering Sonic's ribs and the ticklish hedgehog yelped and jumped to his feet instantly.

"No fair!" Sonic laughed, trying to regain a dignified stance again. "I think it's time I staged a coup, you faker of a Prince…" the blue hedgehog advanced with a dangerous glint in his eyes, letting Shadow rise from the bed, his body language now also speaking of challenge.

"The pet trying to bite the hand that feeds it now?"

"When you bought me, your ego was writing cheques your quills can't cash!" Sonic shot back confidently, stepping forward to shove Shadow, but the black hedgehog brought his hands up in time to catch Sonic's. Both Sapients were now locked in a pushing match, gleaming crimson staring into playful emerald, while both of them mock-fought for dominance.

A knock on the door suddenly brought them up short.

"My Prince? I'm sorry, but this matter is of importance!" Greytail called from outside and both hedgehogs let go immediately, as if caught doing something they shouldn't have, the joy of the moment gone.

"What is it, Greytail?" Shadow asked, making for the door and opening it while a frustrated Sonic sighed and slid down beneath his ring again, wondering why on Mobius these people couldn't leave their Prince alone for freakin twenty minutes.

"As you may know, my Prince, the preparations for the war are already well underway. To further ensure our superiority, we are now drafting all non-essential slaves to become weapons for our army. Your slave was not listed as an essential commodity and since he appears to be broken now…" the cat trailed off, not at least because Shadow's expression had become ever more unfriendly.

"I'm keeping Sonic here," he announced.

"My Prince, I am terribly sorry, I am aware that one can grow quite attached to one's pets, but…" Greytail argued, obviously torn between obedience towards a superior and conflicting orders.

"Servant. Look at him. Sonic is a pleasure slave, and nothing more. Do you honestly believe he would be of _any _use on a battlefield?" Shadow asked in a tone that suggested the cat was in dire need of a second brain hemisphere, even if Sonic's lips had briefly twitched at the irony of the question.

Greytail seemed to consider the point but still wasn't convinced.

"Well, if you put it like that, my Prince, no, but my orders are-"

"Also, Sonic is needed for the presentation of slaves at the dinner tomorrow," Shadow continued. "As you are aware we need to demonstrate to King Max of Acorn that our tradition of enslavement of the weak is justified and our pets have no other wish but to serve their masters. I have already announced to my father that I will take Sonic with me for that purpose."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I apologize again for disturbing you. Also, I have brought your lunch," the cat bowed and presented a tray laden with food that he carried into the room. "I, errm, fail to see the fox kit…?" he wondered, looking at the empty food bowl in the corner next to Sonic.

"Yes. I needed him for demonstration purposes of a punishment. I disposed of the body already," Shadow explained coolly, satisfied to see at last the tiniest twitch of the feline's whiskers and knowing he still hadn't lost his touch when it came to playing the 'homicidal maniac' card.

Greytail managed a very tiny "Ah," and then made to disappear rather quickly, leaving Shadow to watch Sonic jump up and immediately plonk himself down at the table, wolfing down the food.

"Ing wash ang igiot nock koo eat ackfasht," the blue hedgehog explained coherently to his supposed Master, which Shadow assumed translated loosely into 'I was an idiot not to eat breakfast', especially since Sonic then continued with "I've never been so hungry in my life. Well. Technically –munch- there was that one time when –gobble- I had been following Eggman for –chomp- _days _in Oil Ocean Zone and you know, like, _nothing _grows there and-" it was about at this point that he started violently choking on some food bit or other and Shadow hit him rather harder on the back than would have been necessary.

"For Chaos' sake, faker, will you stop talking while eating! I grew up on a space station but Professor Gerald at least taught me _that_."

"Heh. Sorry," the blue hero apologized sheepishly after he had recovered. "I guess I should watch myself at this dinner. Not that I'd assume they let us slaves eat at the table anyway," he added dryly. After a few more bites he at last turned to Shadow, his expression now serious again.

"Which reminds me, Shadow. Us two have it pretty cosy here, but that doesn't change a thing that the world out there is utter horror. I mean, just look at this plate," he gestured to the food. "We get to eat – well, technically, _I_ get to eat – while I'm pretty sure out there there's starving kids. And starving slaves. Now they're to be used as cannon fodder, too. We saved one. How do we save the others?"

Shadow shook his head. "It's not that simple, Sonic. You're used to fighting against a single villain, while we have a whole _system_ to contend with here. It's not as easy as thrashing the Doctor's latest robot. If we defeated Black Doom, there might just be someone else taking his place. "

"Oh yeah?" Sonic shot back. "Who? His _son_?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Shadow replied. _From what I've seen of the real Prince's 'utensils' the guy had other things on his mind anyway. _"But someone would. He could be even worse than Black Doom."

"And what if he was better?" Sonic argued. "Your strategy is not doing anything just because thrashing the place wouldn't work. I say once we've got the Emerald we whoop Black Doom's floaty butt. Let's give this world a chance, okay? Maybe there could be a rebellion that's just been waiting for an opportunity," the collared hero explained, his eyes shining at the prospect of an end to the suffering he had seen.

"Hrrrm," Shadow frowned, obviously not happy about the direction this conversation was taking. So far, Sonic had never made definite plans re: liberating the world, but it was obvious this was one subject he wouldn't yield on.

"Come on, Shadow. You know it's the right thing to do," Sonic said…and then tentatively reached out to cover Shadow's hand lying on the table with his own. He looked into his eyes. The blue-furred speedster knew he was playing a dangerous game. He had been making ever so little advances, trying to ascertain how much familiarity Shadow would permit him…and always, always he was fearing the black hedgehog would eventually rear back and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing.

And it came to Sonic's surprise that Shadow instead merely sighed, but then briefly squeezed Sonic's hand in his own. "Fine. Once we've got the Emerald, we can try to defeat Black Doom. But don't you dare, Sonic, don't you dare get yourself killed."

"Awesome!" the blue hero's face lit up immediately, not at least from the little fireworks batch Shadow gripping his hand had just now ignited inside him. Sonic tossed his supposed Master his leash. "_Now_ I feel like a walk in the park!"

xxx

It was a peaceful picture. Sonic and Shadow were walking side by side, smelling the black rose bushes that lined the paths of Black Doom's Rocky Horror Garden Show. Shadow briefly wondered whether the petals falling down from the trees might have been cherry blossoms, but then again, flame-red petals with a black, slit-pupil eye in the middle probably weren't listed in any standard botanic volume. Sonic was occasionally darting to the side or walking a couple of steps in front of Shadow when he had seen something interesting, but there never was a problem with the length of leather dangling from his neck – the blue hedgehog was acting as naturally as if it wasn't there at all, just enjoying being close to his midnight counterpart.

Shadow himself felt oddly at peace, too, despite the problems like 'Survive The Dinner 101' and 'We Kill Black Doom How, Exactly?' looming on the horizon. He wondered why this was, when he was as far from home as he could be, not even able to look at the night sky to see the ARK float in orbit as a dark patch between the stars.

But of course when he looked at Sonic enjoying himself he knew the answer. As long as Sonic let himself belong to him, he had someone to care for, again, he had a purpose once more…he wasn't sure whether it had something to do with the bathing madness from this morning, but something had shifted a bit in their relationship. Shadow felt as if Sonic had entrusted himself to him when he had let Shadow put the collar on him, even after he had yelled at Shadow only in the morning how the 'last person in your care' had died…

Thinking of Maria still hurt. Especially when he could not even visit her grave in this strange dimension. But being around the blue hero somehow soothed that pain – he didn't have to be afraid of losing Sonic if he decided to love him. The blue hedgehog was a survivor, as strong as the Ultimate Lifeform himself.

Shadow smiled.

_Perhaps I have been given a second chance, Maria. _

To be continued...

* * *

(keels over) Umph. Two months of hiatus are over. Regular updates should resume again - somewhat regular, anyway - and I do hope you all enjoyed the new chapter and we didn't have anybody give up over the draught. ;)

As for Sonic's fear of water in the last chapter - well I'm pretty much basing my personality off the Sonic of JudasFm's fanfics (go read them!) and in there, it really is a pathological, serious issue, not the comedy stuff from SonicX. Just in case you were wondering whether it was overdone, in this case it just depends on which canon/fanon you prefer to use. :)

I'm also incredibly pleased to announce I got my first piece of FANART for this chapter, the link is now on my profile, it's of this very chapter and drawn by hamlet1616. Additionally, I got a few PMs of people who thought the idea of a forum was good, so I just opened Just Plain Sonadow, just a li'l place to chat. Feel free to drop in!. :) If anyone else feels inspired to draw up a sketch of the story, btw, I'd be over the moon, of course...;)

If you read, please review? :)


	29. Love And Monsters

Uhm. Slight brutality warning? XD

**Chapter 29: Love And Monsters**

In Black Doom's park, a fresh breeze mingled the acrid smell of war with the sweet aroma of cherry blossoms. Shadow and Sonic were ambling along the paths together (not that Sonic actually had much choice in that matter), both feeling the same odd mixture of apprehension and content that their strange situation brought with it.

At first, Shadow had taken the turns that led toward the little lake, but when Sonic very definitely had pulled at his restraint as soon as the water came in sight, the black hedgehog relented quickly, not trying to force his supposed slave again. Now the pair had reached the crest of a small hill instead and taken the opportunity to sit down in the grass, no words necessary as both at the same time had had the idea of watching the approaching sunset out here.

Shadow had Sonic's leash still slung loosely around his wrist where he leaned back on his hands, but the blue hedgehog scarcely minded. As the wind ruffled the fur on his head, a brightly orange and pastel-coloured sky above, all he could think of was how much he enjoyed the fresh air and the outside. Having lived as a pet of the castle for only a couple of days, Sonic shuddered inwardly at how it would be if he was a real slave and his Master would keep him chained up in the dark somewhere where he would never see the sun or feel the bite of a crisp autumn morning on his face…

Instead of _this_. It was simply wonderful to be able to sit here and share this beauty of nature with Shadow.

He also felt good that it wasn't even necessary to talk about it with him. Just by a look Sonic could discern that the other felt the same, liked the moment of silence in the chaos of their alternate dimensional life. _Amy would probably be chattering right now_, thought Sonic with a smile. _Shadow is a nice change. _

He saw the Ultimate Lifeform's hand resting next to him in the grass and briefly thought of taking it like he had just previously, but stopped himself. It was a bit too…kitsch. But then again, in terms of romance, Sonic really had no experience but shrieking fangirlism and a couple of horrible, sickly-sweet coupling movies Amy had dragged him to. He had of course come across porn as well, but somehow he doubted that that stuff was in any way more realistic than the chick-flicks.

_And then, of course, there's the whole falling-for-a-guy thing. Yippee. _Sonic let out a minor groan. So far, he had actually found girls attractive…scary as hell, yes, but attractive nonetheless. Only by getting close to Shadow he had started to think that there was a certain beauty about the black hedgehog, too…

_Wonder whether that counts as extreme narcissism. _

The blue hedgehog snorted mentally. It was confusing. Was it a phase, was he bi, or what? Thinking about it made his head hurt. And the only surefire way of finding out would either involve him getting his head ripped off by Shadow or starting some sort of relationship with him - and Sonic honestly couldn't decide which perspective sounded scarier.

_Assuming that he even 'swings that way'. _

But Shadow hadn't even had a girlfriend yet, right? Despite Rouge's best efforts, anyway. And if that relation with that Maria chick had really been just friends _– _i_f only because the alternative is really, REALLY icky_, Sonic thought - then yes, there might be a chance.

A relationship with Shadow…with Sonic's movement currently restrained, his imagination started running wild, despite its owner's attempts to stop it. It was hard to suppress the memories of Shadow kneeling above him on the bed, the nightmares, the times when they had ended up in close contact…the hero of Mobius was horrified to notice his heart beating faster again, heat spreading through his body, centering below his belly…

_Okay,__ okay, I know I think he looks hot, now stop it! _he wailed toward his hormone-addled brain, but to no avail. Fantasy took over with sadistic glee and joyfully displayed the Rocky Horror Picture Show with him as protagonist in his mind's private cinema. A vision of him bending over and kissing Shadow on the lips flashed before his inner eye before he could stop it. Sonic by now was contemplating jumping into the goddamn lake.

_If Shadow was to be my…boyfriend…_Sonic had to touch the word with mental tweezers, the thing itself sounding unfamiliar and strange…

_He would be my…lover…_

Shadow, sitting next to the blue hedgehog, wondered why his supposed slave suddenly had a violent choking fit.

"You okay?"

"Arrgh."

"I take that as a 'yes', shall I?" Shadow asked, looking at Sonic a bit closer, which almost let the other bend backward again, if he hadn't desperately wanted to hide his flustered state.

Because the next mental picture was only the next logical consequence in a romantic relationship…and then there was Tails again, his eyes wide and blue, asking innocently: "Say, does it hurt?" and the blue hero pretty much wanted to curl up right on the spot.

_Why do you hate me, brain?_

He had to focus on something different. Tails.

"…do you think in our world back home everything is okay?" Sonic wondered a bit too loudly, glad for the thought. It was something that actually bothered him for real, too.

Shadow frowned. "I should think so. Why?"

"Well, if time runs the same in both universes, then we have been gone for almost a week…Robotnik could have attacked or anything, really."

"Sonic, I'm pretty sure that echidna and your fox kid can handle the Doctor for a while. Besides, there's still Rouge working for GUN. Despite what you may think, the world can cope without you for a week."

"…I guess." Sonic couldn't help but smile a bit at the other's good-natured mocking. It was nice when somebody could calm you down. "Of course, _two _weeks would be out of the question, but I guess one is okay." He gave a quick grin. "Heh, I wonder whether people have noticed us gone missing yet…"

xxx

"We…we should really stop him," Knuckles managed, still unable to tear his eyes away from the carnage. "Even Robotnik doesn't deserve this."

"Yeah…." Rouge agreed, transfixed. Then she winced. "Ouch. _That _must have hurt."

"I'm…I'm sorry…" the blue hedgehog next to them muttered. "My Master isn't usually that violent. He's just very protective."

"Protective. Of course," Knuckles dead-panned, dodging almost automatically another flying wrench.

"Should we...save Eggman?" Rouge asked tentatively. "You know, before he dies and stuff."

Knuckles nodded. "Probably. You go first."

"Like…no?"

"It's okay. I'll try," the collared hedgehog fell in, taking a step toward the fighting scene. Knuckles regarded him suspiciously. "What are you gonna do? You're not even wearing your shoes. You're not yourself, either, and you can't explain what happened to you."

'Sonic' smiled. "I'm still not sure what you're talking about. But it really is simple – I'm simply going to offer myself to him."

The blue hedgehog strode forward smiling, while Rouge had difficulty supporting a suddenly gagging Knuckles.

xxx

"Maybe. They'd have noticed you more than me," Shadow shrugged. "But I'd be surprised if they had any _real_ problems while we're gone."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "Not like _this_ world." He scowled at two of the brown-collared garden slaves that shuffled past from time to time. It was a female rabbit and a male coyote, both emaciated, dragging loads of earth that were clearly too heavy for them down the path on some kind of sled-contraption. "I hate this place, Shadow," he said quietly.

"I know."

Again, Shadow wanted to put an arm around Sonic, but he wasn't sure he should. The Ultimate Lifeform wasn't used to being uncertain about _anything_ and hated the feeling. A daydream again showed him Sonic as a real slave, existing for the pleasure of his Master and there to be used, so he'd know how to act…but sadly, the blue hedgehog seemed more interested in alternatively fighting, teasing and confusing the hell out of Shadow. Briefly, out of habit, the black hedgehog had earlier had the idea of simply _taking _what he wanted, the way he usually would…but even if the idea turned him a _little_ bit on, to be honest, he would never actually consider it. In reality, the whole concept of doing that to a person was repulsive to him and he would hate himself if he hurt Sonic in any way.

_If only I could touch you the way I wanted without scaring you…_Shadow knew Sonic was still a bit twitchy around him – the episodes when he had forbidden him to enter the bed or his behaviour after Shadow had carried him into the water spoke volumes. But yet, Sonic still sought out his company time and time again, be it returning to his side when they were swimming, or simply staying with him, instead of running off in search for Tails or freedom…

Shadow looked up at the darkening sky and the slowly emerging stars, his face expressionless. Was the blue hedgehog, like himself, only trying to figure out how far he could go with Shadow? Did he actually…_like_ him back? Or was it mere friendship?

Next to him, the collared hero was staring into the distance as well, seemingly lost in thought. A chill breeze suddenly ruffled their fur and Shadow noticed the temperature dropping a couple of degrees. The Ultimate Lifeform could operate in sub-zero conditions, but he wasn't too sure about Sonic...

"Are you cold?"

"Nope," the blue hedgehog gave him a sideways glance, his lips twitching briefly. "High-speed metabolism, y'know? I'm not a girl, Shads."

"Sure," the pretend Prince snorted. "Keep telling yourself that the next time you shriek when tickled."

"Oy!" Sonic shoved the black hedgehog to the side, radiating mock-indignancy. "Get blunted, you fake hedgehog!"

"Do you really want to find out who will blunt whom here…?" Shadow smirked in challenge, pulling at Sonic's leash to bring both their faces inches apart, noses touching as his own cocky attitude was mirrored in the sparkling green eyes of the other, a grinning Sonic not caring in the least whether his slave status brought him at a disadvantage here.

"Would love to show you, faker…" Sonic growled playfully, lightly bonking his own forehead against Shadow's since the black hedgehog was forcing him forwards anyway.

"Oh yeah?" the Ultimate Lifeform asked casually, retaliating with another, slightly more forceful nudge of his own.

"Uh-huh. I've eaten candy cones sharper than your quills," Sonic taunted, headbutting Shadow for the third time, the connection now audible. Amy would probably roll her eyes at this behaviour. But how would girls know what was fun?

"I'll make you eat those _words_," Shadow threatened, heads once again colliding.

"Big talk from a seven-year-old puggle," Sonic shot back, enjoying the little psychological advantage he had over the black hedgehog artificially created on a space station. The Ultimate Lifeform hesitated for a moment. Then:

"Big _mistake_, Sonic." Shadow suddenly gave the grin of a tiger poised to kill, and before Sonic could wonder why the other had not headbutted him this time, the supposed dark Prince had already leapt.

"Woah-!" Sonic called out in surprise, Shadow knocking him to the ground with his impact.

"Still so cocky?" Shadow asked, sitting atop him, pinning his arms to the ground and obviously feeling superior.

"You bet!" Sonic laughed, twisting so that they rolled onto the side. What he hadn't taken into account, however, was that they had been on top of a hill – and suddenly they were on top no more.

"What-?!"

It only took a second, but suddenly the two hedgehogs were rolling down the incline, still entangled with each other. Sonic couldn't help but laugh, again instinctively clinging to Shadow the way he had to Tails when they had done this together in play long ago. Shadow at first struggled, but when he realized what was happening, he couldn't help but probably give what was the first real laugh he'd uttered ever since Maria died.

Laughing their heads off, the two hedgehogs tumbled down the slope together, being smashed against each other by bumps and sudden drops, loving every second of it.

They finally came to a stop under a thick hedge running along the foot of the hill, separating the grassy area from the meticulously tended gravel paths.

Gasping for air and trying to pull his tangled leash back to him, Sonic lay on his side panting next to Shadow. The black hedgehog stared at him with a curious expression; the same half-smile still visible on his face that Sonic guessed was probably on his as well. Again, the familiar burst of happiness welled up in the hero of Mobius and he wanted to reach out right then, right _there_ to touch Shadow, bring himself close to him like they had been just now…

"_You piece of FILTH!"_

The piercing crack of a whip suddenly lashed through the air, almost instantly accompanied by the cry of a girl in agony.

Sonic's head shot up as he scrambled to get onto his knees, the special feeling of the moment gone. Beside him, Shadow had quickly got up as well, both hedgehogs now peering through the foliage.

"_You did it AGAIN!" _Red-hot fury roaring up inside him, Sonic recognized the yeller instantly. It was the rhino guard who had so brutally beaten him just two days ago. Now he was lashing out at the crying rabbit girl next to a spilled wheelbarrow which probably had keeled over because it had been loaded much too heavily for the female.

"_WORTHLESS!" _

The guard screamed at the trembling heap of misery, lashing out once more and finally drawing blood. Beside her, the ragged coyote seemed too terrified to even move a single muscle.

"You sick bastard," Sonic snarled under his breath, acid in his stomach almost boiling over at the psychopathic cruelty he had been forced to witness. His eyes were chips of gleaming gemstone blade, narrowing on the guard. "Now I'll _show _you-!" he uprighted himself, preparing to leap over the hedge and make sure the sadistic rhino never, ever hurt somebody again. But suddenly he gagged, Shadow having pulled him back at his leash forcefully, tackling him to the ground again, eyes blazing.

"_Will you stay hidden!" _he hissed.

"NO! Let me up!" Sonic snapped back, struggling with his face in the dirt on his belly underneath Shadow but the black hedgehog wouldn't release him. "I've got to help her!"

"You _can't!" _Shadow was pressing down heavily on Sonic's back and neck, his grip strong.

Uselessly fighting against his captor, at this point Sonic hated, hated being bound, tied and chained up with all his heart.

"What will you do? Fight off the guard? And the next guards that will come running?"

"Yes! I will! I'll destroy this entire castle if I have to!" Sonic barked furiously, not caring whether anyone would hear him over the yelling of the guard and the wailing of the slave girl.

"Sonic!" Shadow used Sonic's next bucking to simply flip him over, now again pinning him onto his back, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "Realize. This is _not _the way to go about this. If we really want to help those slaves, we must make Black Doom lose this war."

"…what?" Sonic for a moment ceased his struggling underneath Shadow, so taken aback was he by the answer.

Shadow blinked. He hadn't planned on saying this out loud, even if he had really known all along that this was the truth. But seeing Sonic in this much agitation, he simply had…

"You heard me," he grunted, regarding his supposed slave lying on his back. "It'll complicate things by about a fantastillion percent but if we actually want to achieve anything before we go home, it means we have to see to it that this kingdom falls. There will have to be a war and the others will have to win it."

Sonic regarded Shadow for a second wordlessly, his chest rising and falling softly with the weight of the other on top of him.

War. Sonic fought battles, but he had never fought a war. He could take down battalions of robots, but war was armies of living people. Battles were over in hours. War could last forever. War was not just him and whoever decided to accompany him in danger, war meant the world becoming a giant battlefield, soldiers in houses, villages and cities. War was hell on earth.

And then the whip soared down once more and the rabbit screamed as if she had her fur torn off alive.

Sonic nodded, darkness rising in those emerald eyes.

"Let's go to war."

xxx

"We will leave now. Do not try to stop us," the black hedgehog glared at the assembly of Mobians before him, both Knuckles and Rouge unsure of how to act. In the background, there were still the faint groans of pain from Robotnik. Whatever part of his identity the Ultimate Lifeform had forgotten _this _time around, he sure still knew how to lay the ultimate smackdown on people. Next to him, the collared blue hedgehog whimpered as the other held his collar in a steel grip and now yanked it harshly.

"Come on. We'll go. Somewhere there has to be my father's castle."

A thin whistling sound suddenly permeated the air and the black hedgehog gasped, also making the younger one jump. Disbelieving, his calf leather-gloved hand reached down to his side, pulling out a still dripping syringe.

"What…what is this devilry…?" was all he managed before collapsing to the floor, the collared hedgehog, terrified, instantly collapsing onto his knees next to him.

"Master!"

"It's okay, I only sedated him!" Tails piped up, bursting through the doors with something looking like a high-tech blowpipe. "But really, it's urgent!"

"T-tails?" Rouge asked, still looking a bit frazzled by the events of the last few minutes. "What are you doing here, weren't you supposed to research about the missing Emerald…?"

"Yeah." The fox nodded. "That's kinda why I'm here. Remember that 'end of the world' stuff?"

"Yes," Rouge cut in. "What about it?" she asked, sounding slightly worried.

Tails bit his lip. "Well, actually, it'll happen in about 60 hours if we can't find that missing Emerald."

"What?" Knuckles frowned. "Come on, even in Majora's Mask you got given more time than tha-"

"HURRY!"

xxx

They got up quickly after that, Shadow briefly trying to dust off his fur, especially the ridge on his right shoulder that would never lie really smoothly. Sonic didn't bother, the appearance of the Crown Prince much more important than the grooming of his slave. Again grabbing the leash, Shadow briskly strode around the hedge and stepped onto the path.

"Hey, you! Guardsman!" he barked at the rhinoceros who had just raised his whip for the fourth brutal lash, the blood of the rabbit now soaking into the back of her dirty tunic.

"Wha-oh, my Prince!" he turned around, then bowed hastily as soon as he recognized Shadow. "How may I be of service?"

"I wanted a quiet walk," Shadow growled. "You _spoiled _it."

"I - forgive me, my liege, but she would yell-"

"_Have I asked you to speak?" _Shadow scathed, his tone itself lashing enough to make a cat-o'nine-tails curl up in shame.

The rhino instantly became a more reddish shade of grey in the face, now starting to sweat profusely. Desperately he shook his head, his mouth opening and closing in silence, obviously wishing to defend himself but not daring to raise his voice again.

Shadow advanced, Sonic in tow but paying no attention to him.

"What. Have you done here?" he asked, clipping the edges of his words as with a razor.

"I…she spilled the load, my Prince, I chastised-"

"I should have you executed for your incompetence."

"N-no! My Prince, I beg you-!" the rhino dropped to his knees, his face now level with the smaller black hedgehog. He was trembling badly now, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

"Let me demonstrate." Shadow's tone was light now, and for some reason that made it all the more frightening. Even Sonic, who suspected Shadow wouldn't hurt him without ample warning, nor was his superior in power, felt definitely uncomfortable now with the black hedgehog's leash around his neck.

The Ultimate Lifeform then bent slightly forward, taking the whip out of the unresisting hands of the Sapient. He studied it carefully in his hands, like a connoisseur of violins might eye a Stradivarius. "Tell me, Guardsman. Your life might depend on this answer. Are you afraid of me now?"

"Yes! Yes! Please don't let me have executed, I have a wife, I have a kid-" the rhinoceros was crying now, sobbing as he begged for his life.

"Hm-mm." Shadow replied, unmoved, his eyes still on the vicious weapon in his hands. Then, without warning, he struck. The cruel black leather left a bright red streak across the rhino's face. The guard howled.

"Are you more afraid of me now than you were a moment ago?" Shadow asked, his tone still level. When the horned Sapient didn't reply immediately, but still clutched at his face wailing, Shadow cracked the whip a second time, this time aiming for the left eye.

"I SAID," he suddenly roared, "_Are you more afraid of me now than you were a moment ago_!"

The guard immediately fell silent, still covering the left half of his face where his eye was now seeping blood. He stared at Shadow with unabashed horror in his gaze but couldn't even collect himself enough to say something. A whimper was all he managed.

"Idiot," Shadow's voice was quiet now, but saturated in cold disdain that let even Sonic shudder. He tossed the whip casually to the ground akin a piece of garbage. His red eyes stared into the one that was left to the guardsman.

"Of course you are not," he continued. "Your greatest fear, like that of so many other commoners, is death. It matters little to you whether I whip you or not if I am threatening to kill you. It has virtually no effect, other than me having just damaged your eyesight and therefore having made you ever so little less valuable as guardsman," he explained, a cruel grin sliding across his features at that last part. Sonic found it almost impossible not to feel a smidgen of pity for the terrified rhino at this point, even though he had felt the blows of his spear on his own body. And even more impossible he found it to recognize the laughing, playful black hedgehog that he had rolled down the hill with in this imperious, merciless creature Shadow could become so easily.

"Pl…please…" tears were mixing with crimson liquid on the wounded face of the rhino now, the adult male reduced to a frightened child.

"Understand this," Shadow said flatly. "Understand this or else I will have to demonstrate more drastically. The whip is useless. Broken slaves either obey you or they don't. I only have to raise a hand toward Sonic and he flinches." He whipped his hand in the air for demonstration and Sonic, only now realizing that something was wanted from him, immediately scrambled to produce a satisfying flinching effect. The guard watched, confused.

"Only incompetent fools have to use the whip. The slaves fear you already and will attempt anything to obey. If you think you have to whip them to make them work better, then all you are doing is damaging the property of _my family,_" he snarled, taking care to let his incisors, sharper than the average hedgehog's thanks to Gerald, shine brightly. "Do you understand, guardsman?"

"Y-yes! I do! I will not damage the slaves again, I promise!" the rhinoceros babbled immediately, his blood-stained hands now clasped in prayer, his ruined eye unprotected. "Please let me live!"

Sonic snuck a glance over at the two gardening slaves. They had been watching the whole spectacle dumb-founded, obviously having no idea how to judge the situation. Sonic felt for them, would have gone over and comforted the girl in a heartbeat, but the leash around his neck wouldn't let him…

"I will. For now," Shadow replied, disinterestedly. "But know this. I have my eyes and ears throughout this castle. If I ever should hear you were foolish enough to have to use the whip again…" he let the sentence trail off, "...the damaged slaves will be replaced by you and your family. Tell me again, how old is your kid now?"

"No…please, not them…" the rhino whispered now hoarsely, apparently even forgetting the agony of his ravaged face in the presence of this new horror.

"Entirely up to you." Shadow shrugged, not even looking at the guard anymore, as if already concerned with more important matters. "I will conclude my walk now and if I should be disturbed by so much as a whimper from either you or the two wretches, I will have all three of you executed on the spot." So saying, he turned and didn't say another word, dragging a dumbfounded Sonic with him away from the scene. Their way was leading back to the castle entrance now and it took even the verbal waterfall of the blue speedster a while to find his voice again.

"Wow. Shadow. That was horrible. _You _were horrible." He couldn't find other words to describe it. The black hedgehog's cruelty had appalled him and he wasn't even sure whether the sadistic glee had been mere playacting or not.

"I know." Shadow didn't look at him as he said it. In fact, the black hedgehog looked rather unhappy himself, brow creased in sorrow.

"Maria, she…" he started, then suddenly had to swallow before he could continue. "Maria would have been disgusted if she had seen me like this." Crimson eyes only met Sonic's briefly before the Ultimate Lifeform spoke again, almost too silent to be heard. "As are you, no doubt."

"Yes," Sonic confirmed, his tone steady and he watched the effect this had on the black hedgehog carefully. Something inside him hurt as he heard the sharp intake of breath from the other, indicating that his reply had caused the other obvious pain. He grasped Shadow's wrist and for the first time brought the black hedgehog up short, his supposed Master now forced to look at him.

"What?" Shadow asked unwillingly.

"But it was the right thing to do, Shadow. Or maybe not the right thing, but the _only_ thing. You did what I couldn't and that rhino will never hurt slaves again, hopefully."

"Perhaps," Shadow conceded. "But this is not how I should have behaved. This is not how Professor Gerald and Maria would have ever wanted me to act."

_But I couldn't help myself when I saw you suffering, Sonic…this _rage_ that I felt…_

"Don't beat yourself up over it. That rhino deserved it. You _try_ to do the right thing, Shadow. That's what's important."

"You think so." It was a question, not a statement and it still had that bitter edge to it, but at least now the crimson eyes were looking at his again and Sonic could feel some hope stirring in there once more. He smiled.

"Sure. I think all you need is someone to stop you sometimes."

The black hedgehog raised an eyeridge and then not even he could help but give the faintest of twitchings of the lips back.

"Then you better stick around, faker…"

_To be continued..._

* * *

Anybody know what a Makiwara is? It is a wooden pole used for practicing punches in karate. Anybody knows what a sadistic karate trainer is? It is a trainer who makes you train with one without any hand protection. I can barely type anymore. Ow. Even Knuckles has his stupid gloves for punching stuff...-.-

Weeeell, I noticed it has been a while since I updated, so I figured before any of you lose all hope to see the story continue, here it is, brand new chappie and all. Hope you like and if your read, please review? :) Also, we have our second piece of FANART this time by ShotsOfSunshine, which is now linked on the profile! I am over the moon, I tell you. :D Now, wonder whether we'll get one sketch for each chapter...? XD Please check out and comment. ^^


	30. Commitment

**Chapter 30: Commitment  
**

"Well, here we are. Back for another night in the Kingdom of Nightmares," Sonic commented as they had arrived in front of the Prince's dormitory again. A part of him was nervous as hell about sharing the bed with Shadow again, yet another yearned for his closeness…

"Yes. Dinner should have been delivered here, in case you're hungry," Shadow replied, leading Sonic inside and once more freeing him off the leash, a part of him relishing the joy of seeing the blue hedgehog once more unrestrained and enjoying his permitted freedom.

Sonic himself took a couple of hesitant steps toward the bed, then turned around and instead inspected the food on the table, not really seeing it. He wasn't hungry. Instead, his stomach felt way too cramped to digest any food and the entire collared hero emitted an air of restlessness, awkwardly rubbing the choker around his neck as he considered what to do next. Technically, they would settle down for the night soon, but he really didn't think he'd able to get any sleep next to Shadow now – and even if it wasn't for the thousand questions swarming around in his brain like angry bees, there was still the magnitude of the decision to actually go to war they had just made weighing heavily on his shoulders. Maybe it would make it easier to bear if he could at least get things with Shadow straightened out…

The blue hedgehog turned around and made his way back to their sleeping stead where the Ultimate Lifeform was already sitting on the edge, fiddling with his power rings, it seemed. Sonic crawled onto the mattress from the opposite side, coming to sit with his hands behind his head and leaning against the headboard. He stared at the ceiling while he tried to figure out how to open this conversation.

"Say, Shadow…" he paused. "Have you ever…liked somebody? Besides Maria, I mean."

The black hedgehog turned around, seeming a bit surprised at the question. He regarded Sonic for a moment, perhaps also wondering how to word his reply.

"I am…not a stranger to love, if that's what you mean," he finally said somewhat cryptically, but had resumed staring at his rings instead of meeting Sonic's gaze. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but feel his heart beat just a little bit faster.

"Shadow…" he managed, but was interrupted when the Ultimate lifeform suddenly raised his head again.

"But you know the rules and so do I."

"The rules?" Sonic asked, slightly taken aback. "What, that collar around my neck? Why would that have to bother us? I mean, you don't _really _see me as your property, do you? And once we're back home-"

Shadow shook his head. "No. I didn't mean the rules here. It's a..._full_ commitment I'm thinking of."

"A commitment?" Sonic repeated again, now really getting confused. "What, you mean me commit to you or something? But that's what I've been doing all the time!" the blue hero replied, now suddenly feeling the heat rush to his face again. Was Shadow talking of…committing to…

"You wouldn't get this from any other guy," the black hedgehog continued and now the first doubts began to creep up on Sonic's face.

"Huh? Shadow, you don't talk like this. What…?"

"But I just want to tell you how I'm feeling," the black hedgehog said earnestly and now Sonic was tempted to raise a pillow in self-defence and ask the creature in front of him just who the hell he was and what he had done with Sonic's supposed Master.

"I've got to make you understand…" the black hedgehog had turned around on the bed and was now stalking toward Sonic (who was very rapidly drawing his knees up against his chin in self-defence) on all fours. "I'm never gonna give you up, Sonic."

Something seemed to click in Sonic's head.

"_Wait_…"

"I'm never gonna let you down."

"That is…you are…" the blue hedgehog was having a hard time deciding who to be angry at. "_Tell me you're not doing this!_"

But it was too late. The Ultimate Lifeform had already stood up, grabbed a microphone from the plothole fairy and was in full swing. _"I'm never gonna run around or deseeert you…_!"

Sonic flung a pillow, but missed.

"_Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbyyye_…"

"Right now I wish you would…" Sonic groaned. In his opinion, the inventor of today's date should be lined up against a wall and shot.

"_Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you_!" Shadow finished, threw the microphone away and looked at Sonic expectantly. "Well? A romantic enough confession scene for you?"

"Fuck, _no_."

"Oh." The black hedgehog looked a bit crestfallen. "Well…then what are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know what you'll be doing," Sonic said, slipping off the bed and striding toward the door. "But _I'm_ leaving."

"But – where are you going to go?" The black hedgehog frowned. "This fic isn't over yet!"

"Well, it may be news to you," Sonic shot back, stopping and turning for a moment to jab a finger into Shadow's chest, "But _I_ never wanted to star in a yaoi fic. I wanted to be…a lumberjack!"

"Say what?!" Now it was Shadow's turn to look a bit put out, especially since the blue hedgehog now proceeded to don a red-and-black checkered flannel shirt and opened the door to their dormitory which appeared to lead into an open forest.

"Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!" he exclaimed, striding through the shrubs now surrounding them, Shadow, frankly a bit dumbfounded, stumbling behind, "The Giant Redwood. The Larch. The Fir! The mighty Scots Pine!"

"Look, you left _readers _pining here, not-"

"The lofty flowering Cherry! The plucky little Apsen! The limping Roo tree of Nigeria!"

"What – this isn't -!" Shadow stammered, then stopped in his pursuit of the newborn botanist Sonic the Hedgehog when he suddenly recognized another familiar face. "Rouge?!" he asked. "Hey, readers have been wondering when you'd show up…say, is Jet alright?" he questioned with a frown as he noted that the bat held the hawk in her arms and he was apparently dead.

"No, he's not! That's what I've been trying to tell you! Now what about my bloody parrot?!" The female treasure hunter barked at him and Shadow would have taken that as his cue to flee the scene, had not Sonic returned at this very moment and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"With my best buddy by my side, we'd sing! Sing! Sing!" He took a deep breath. "Iii'm a lumberjack and I'm okay-!"

"SSTOP IT!"

"Lazar? Oh, _no,_" Shadow mumbled as he now with rising despair noticed the purple lizard striding close. "What – wait, why are you wearing a colonel's uniform…?"

"Sstop thiss fic at once! Thiss iss _sssilly_!"

"…is it?" Sonic had stopped singing now and looked faintly guilty.

"Yess!" the reptile snapped, obviously furious. "A possible lemon sscene! Almosst the firssst kisss after innumerable chaptersss! And you make a Monty Python joke!"

"And a rickroll, actually," Shadow pointed out. "Don't forget my dialogue."

"Yup, and I think that the Females Advocating Nominated Gay Intimate Relationships and Loud Sex-Association (F.A.N.G.I.R.L.s for short) is likely to lynch both us and our author if we don't get the real chapter up tomorrow," Sonic grinned and waved. "Happy April fools' day, everybody! And now, let's repeat this scene for a couple times so it actually looks like a proper chapter at first glance…"

"Well, here we are. Back for another night in the Kingdom of Nightmares," Sonic commented as they had arrived in front of the Prince's dormitory again. A part of him was nervous as hell about sharing the bed with Shadow again, yet another yearned for his closeness…

"Yes. Dinner should have been delivered here, in case you're hungry," Shadow replied, leading Sonic inside and once more freeing him off the leash, a part of him relishing the joy of seeing the blue hedgehog once more unrestrained and enjoying his permitted freedom.

Sonic himself took a couple of hesitant steps toward the bed, then turned around and instead inspected the food on the table, not really seeing it. He wasn't hungry. Instead, his stomach felt way too cramped to digest any food and the entire collared hero emitted an air of restlessness, awkwardly rubbing the choker around his neck as he considered what to do next. Technically, they would settle down for the night soon, but he really didn't think he'd able to get any sleep next to Shadow now – and even if it wasn't for the thousand questions swarming around in his brain like angry bees, there was still the weight of the decision about going to war they had just made weighing heavily on his shoulders. Maybe it would make it easier to bear if he could at least get things with Shadow straightened out…

The blue hedgehog turned around and made his way back to their sleeping stead where the Ultimate Lifeform was already sitting on the edge, fiddling with his power rings, it seemed. Sonic crawled onto the mattress from the opposite side, coming to sit with his hands behind his head and leaning against the headboard. He stared at the ceiling while he tried to figure out how to open this conversation.

"Say, Shadow…" he paused. "Have you ever…liked somebody? Besides Maria, I mean."

The black hedgehog turned around, seeming a bit surprised at the question. He regarded Sonic for a moment, perhaps also wondering how to word his reply.

"I am…not a stranger to love, if that's what you mean," he finally said somewhat cryptically, but had resumed staring at his rings instead of meeting Sonic's gaze. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but feel his heart beat just a little bit faster.

"Shadow…" he managed, but was interrupted when the Ultimate lifeform suddenly raised his head again.

"But you know the rules."

"The rules?" Sonic asked, slightly taken aback. "What, that collar around my neck? Why would that have to bother us? I mean, you don't _really _see me as your property, do you? And once we're back home-"

Shadow shook his head. "No. I didn't mean the rules here. It's more of a different, full commitment I'm thinking of."

"A commitment?" Sonic repeated again, now really getting confused. "What, you mean me commit to you or something? But that's what I've been doing all the time!" the blue hero replied, now suddenly feeling the heat rush to his face again. Was Shadow talking of…committing to…

"You wouldn't get this from any other guy," the black hedgehog continued and now the first doubts began to creep up on Sonic's face.

"Huh? Shadow, you don't talk like this. What…?"

"But I just want to tell you how I'm feeling," the black hedgehog said earnestly and now Sonic was tempted to raise a pillow in self-defence and ask the creature in front of him just who the hell he was and what he had done with Sonic's supposed Master.

"I've got to make you understand…" the black hedgehog had turned around on the bed and was now stalking toward Sonic (who was very rapidly drawing his knees up against his chin in self-defence) on all fours. "I'm never gonna give you up, Sonic."

Something seemed to click in Sonic's head.

"_Wait_…"

"I'm never gonna let you down."

"That is…you are…" the blue hedgehog was having a hard time deciding who to be angry at. "Tell me you're not doing this!"

But it was too late. The Ultimate Lifeform had already stood up, grabbed a microphone from the plothole fairy and was in full swing. "I'm never gonna run around or deseeert you…!"

Sonic flung a pillow, but missed.

"Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbyyye…"

"Right now I wish you would…" Sonic groaned. In his opinion, the inventor of today's date should be lined up against a wall and shot.

"_Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you_!" Shadow finished, threw the microphone away and looked at Sonic expectantly. "Well? A romantic enough confession scene for you?"

"Fuck, _no_."

"Oh." The black hedgehog looked a bit crestfallen. "Well…then what are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know what you'll be doing," Sonic said, slipping off the bed and striding toward the door. "But _I'm_ leaving."

"But – where are you going to go?" The black hedgehog frowned. "This fic isn't over yet!"

"Well, it may be news to you," Sonic shot back, stopping and turning for a moment to jab a finger into Shadow's chest, "But _I_ never wanted to star in a yaoi fic. I wanted to be…a lumberjack!"

"Say what?!" Now it was Shadow's turn to look a bit put out, especially since the blue hedgehog now proceeded to don a red-and-black checkered flannel shirt and opened the door to their dormitory which appeared to lead into an open forest.

"Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!" he exclaimed, striding through the shrubs now surrounding them, Shadow, frankly a bit dumbfounded, stumbling behind, "The Giant Redwood. The Larch. The Fir! The mighty Scots Pine!"

„Look, you left _readers _pining here, not-"

"The lofty flowering Cherry! The plucky little Apsen! The limping Roo tree of Nigeria!"

"What – this isn't -!" Shadow stammered, then stopped in his pursuit of the newborn botanist Sonic the Hedgehog when he suddenly recognized another familiar face. "Rouge?!" he asked. "Hey, readers have been wondering when you'd show up…say, is Jet alright?" he questioned with a frown as he noted that the bat held the hawk in her arms and he was apparently dead.

"No, he's not! Now what about my bloody parrot?!" The female treasure hunter barked at him and Shadow would have taken that as his cue to flee the scene, had not Sonic returned at this very moment and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"With my best buddy by my side, we'd sing! Sing! Sing!" He took a deep breath. "Iii'm a lumberjack and I'm okay-!"

"SSTOP IT!"

"Lazar? Oh, _no,_" Shadow mumbled as he now with rising despair noticed the purple lizard striding close. "What – wait, why are you wearing a colonel's uniform…?"

"Sstop thiss fic at once! Thiss iss _sssilly_!"

"…is it?" Sonic had stopped singing now and looked faintly guilty.

"Yess!" the reptile snapped, obviously furious. "A possible lemon sscene! Almosst the firssst kisss after innumerable chaptersss! And you make a Monty Python joke!"

"And a rickroll, actually," Shadow pointed out. "Don't forget my dialogue."

"Yup, and I actually think they're gonna kill us for that if we don't get the real chapter up tomorrow," Sonic grinned and waved. "Happy April fools' day, everybody! And now, let's repeat this scene for a couple times so it actually looks like a proper chapter at first glance…"

"Well, here we are. Back for another night in the Kingdom of Nightmares," Sonic commented as they had arrived in front of the Prince's dormitory again. A part of him was nervous as hell about sharing the bed with Shadow again, yet another yearned for his closeness…

"Yes. Dinner should have been delivered here, in case you're hungry," Shadow replied, leading Sonic inside and once more freeing him off the leash, a part of him relishing the joy of seeing the blue hedgehog once more unrestrained and enjoying his permitted freedom.

Sonic himself took a couple of hesitant steps toward the bed, then turned around and instead inspected the food on the table, not really seeing it. He wasn't hungry. Instead, his stomach felt way too cramped to digest any food and the entire collared hero emitted an air of restlessness, awkwardly rubbing the choker around his neck as he considered what to do next. Technically, they would settle down for the night soon, but he really didn't think he'd able to get any sleep next to Shadow now – and even if it wasn't for the thousand questions swarming around in his brain like angry bees, there was still the weight of the decision about going to war they had just made weighing heavily on his shoulders. Maybe it would make it easier to bear if he could at least get things with Shadow straightened out…

The blue hedgehog turned around and made his way back to their sleeping stead where the Ultimate Lifeform was already sitting on the edge, fiddling with his power rings, it seemed. Sonic crawled onto the mattress from the opposite side, coming to sit with his hands behind his head and leaning against the headboard. He stared at the ceiling while he tried to figure out how to open this conversation.

"Say, Shadow…" he paused. "Have you ever…liked somebody? Besides Maria, I mean."

The black hedgehog turned around, seeming a bit surprised at the question. He regarded Sonic for a moment, perhaps also wondering how to word his reply.

"I am…not a stranger to love, if that's what you mean," he finally said somewhat cryptically, but had resumed staring at his rings instead of meeting Sonic's gaze. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but feel his heart beat just a little bit faster.

"Shadow…" he managed, but was interrupted when the Ultimate lifeform suddenly raised his head again.

"But you know the rules."

"The rules?" Sonic asked, slightly taken aback. "What, that collar around my neck? Why would that have to bother us? I mean, you don't _really _see me as your property, do you? And once we're back home-"

Shadow shook his head. "No. I didn't mean the rules here. It's more of a different, full commitment I'm thinking of."

"A commitment?" Sonic repeated again, now really getting confused. "What, you mean me commit to you or something? But that's what I've been doing all the time!" the blue hero replied, now suddenly feeling the heat rush to his face again. Was Shadow talking of…committing to…

"You wouldn't get this from any other guy," the black hedgehog continued and now the first doubts began to creep up on Sonic's face.

"Huh? Shadow, you don't talk like this. What…?"

"But I just want to tell you how I'm feeling," the black hedgehog said earnestly and now Sonic was tempted to raise a pillow in self-defence and ask the creature in front of him just who the hell he was and what he had done with Sonic's supposed Master.

"I've got to make you understand…" the black hedgehog had turned around on the bed and was now stalking toward Sonic (who was very rapidly drawing his knees up against his chin in self-defence) on all fours. "I'm never gonna give you up, Sonic."

Something seemed to click in Sonic's head.

"_Wait_…"

"I'm never gonna let you down."

"That is…you are…" the blue hedgehog was having a hard time deciding who to be angry at. "Tell me you're not doing this!"

But it was too late. The Ultimate Lifeform had already stood up, grabbed a microphone from the plothole fairy and was in full swing. "I'm never gonna run around or deseeert you…!"

Sonic flung a pillow, but missed.

"Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbyyye…"

"Right now I wish you would…" Sonic groaned. In his opinion, the inventor of today's date should be lined up against a wall and shot.

"_Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you_!" Shadow finished, threw the microphone away and looked at Sonic expectantly. "Well? A romantic enough confession scene for you?"

"Fuck, _no_."

"Oh." The black hedgehog looked a bit crestfallen. "Well…then what are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know what you'll be doing," Sonic said, slipping off the bed and striding toward the door. "But _I'm_ leaving."

"But – where are you going to go?" The black hedgehog frowned. "This fic isn't over yet!"

"Well, it may be news to you," Sonic shot back, stopping and turning for a moment to jab a finger into Shadow's chest, "But _I_ never wanted to star in a yaoi fic. I wanted to be…a lumberjack!"

"Say what?!" Now it was Shadow's turn to look a bit put out, especially since the blue hedgehog now proceeded to don a red-and-black checkered flannel shirt and opened the door to their dormitory which appeared to lead into an open forest.

"Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!" he exclaimed, striding through the shrubs now surrounding them, Shadow, frankly a bit dumbfounded, stumbling behind, "The Giant Redwood. The Larch. The Fir! The mighty Scots Pine!"

„Look, you left _readers _pining here, not-"

"The lofty flowering Cherry! The plucky little Apsen! The limping Roo tree of Nigeria!"

"What – this isn't -!" Shadow stammered, then stopped in his pursuit of the newborn botanist Sonic the Hedgehog when he suddenly recognized another familiar face. "Rouge?!" he asked. "Hey, readers have been wondering when you'd show up…say, is Jet alright?" he questioned with a frown as he noted that the bat held the hawk in her arms and he was apparently dead.

"No, he's not! Now what about my bloody parrot?!" The female treasure hunter barked at him and Shadow would have taken that as his cue to flee the scene, had not Sonic returned at this very moment and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"With my best buddy by my side, we'd sing! Sing! Sing!" He took a deep breath. "Iii'm a lumberjack and I'm okay-!"

"SSTOP IT!"

"Lazar? Oh, _no,_" Shadow mumbled as he now with rising despair noticed the purple lizard striding close. "What – wait, why are you wearing a colonel's uniform…?"

"Sstop thiss fic at once! Thiss iss _sssilly_!"

"…is it?" Sonic had stopped singing now and looked faintly guilty.

"Yess!" the reptile snapped, obviously furious. "A possible lemon sscene! Almosst the firssst kisss after innumerable chaptersss! And you make a Monty Python joke!"

"And a rickroll, actually," Shadow pointed out. "Don't forget my dialogue."

"Yup, and I actually think they're gonna kill us for that if we don't get the real chapter up tomorrow," Sonic grinned and waved. "Happy April fools' day, everybody! And now, let's repeat this scene for a couple times so it actually looks like a proper chapter at first glance…"

"Well, here we are. Back for another night in the Kingdom of Nightmares," Sonic commented as they had arrived in front of the Prince's dormitory again. A part of him was nervous as hell about sharing the bed with Shadow again, yet another yearned for his closeness…

"Yes. Dinner should have been delivered here, in case you're hungry," Shadow replied, leading Sonic inside and once more freeing him off the leash, a part of him relishing the joy of seeing the blue hedgehog once more unrestrained and enjoying his permitted freedom.

Sonic himself took a couple of hesitant steps toward the bed, then turned around and instead inspected the food on the table, not really seeing it. He wasn't hungry. Instead, his stomach felt way too cramped to digest any food and the entire collared hero emitted an air of restlessness, awkwardly rubbing the choker around his neck as he considered what to do next. Technically, they would settle down for the night soon, but he really didn't think he'd able to get any sleep next to Shadow now – and even if it wasn't for the thousand questions swarming around in his brain like angry bees, there was still the weight of the decision about going to war they had just made weighing heavily on his shoulders. Maybe it would make it easier to bear if he could at least get things with Shadow straightened out…

The blue hedgehog turned around and made his way back to their sleeping stead where the Ultimate Lifeform was already sitting on the edge, fiddling with his power rings, it seemed. Sonic crawled onto the mattress from the opposite side, coming to sit with his hands behind his head and leaning against the headboard. He stared at the ceiling while he tried to figure out how to open this conversation.

"Say, Shadow…" he paused. "Have you ever…liked somebody? Besides Maria, I mean."

The black hedgehog turned around, seeming a bit surprised at the question. He regarded Sonic for a moment, perhaps also wondering how to word his reply.

"I am…not a stranger to love, if that's what you mean," he finally said somewhat cryptically, but had resumed staring at his rings instead of meeting Sonic's gaze. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but feel his heart beat just a little bit faster.

"Shadow…" he managed, but was interrupted when the Ultimate lifeform suddenly raised his head again.

"But you know the rules."

"The rules?" Sonic asked, slightly taken aback. "What, that collar around my neck? Why would that have to bother us? I mean, you don't _really _see me as your property, do you? And once we're back home-"

Shadow shook his head. "No. I didn't mean the rules here. It's more of a different, full commitment I'm thinking of."

"A commitment?" Sonic repeated again, now really getting confused. "What, you mean me commit to you or something? But that's what I've been doing all the time!" the blue hero replied, now suddenly feeling the heat rush to his face again. Was Shadow talking of…committing to…

"You wouldn't get this from any other guy," the black hedgehog continued and now the first doubts began to creep up on Sonic's face.

"Huh? Shadow, you don't talk like this. What…?"

"But I just want to tell you how I'm feeling," the black hedgehog said earnestly and now Sonic was tempted to raise a pillow in self-defence and ask the creature in front of him just who the hell he was and what he had done with Sonic's supposed Master.

"I've got to make you understand…" the black hedgehog had turned around on the bed and was now stalking toward Sonic (who was very rapidly drawing his knees up against his chin in self-defence) on all fours. "I'm never gonna give you up, Sonic."

Something seemed to click in Sonic's head.

"_Wait_…"

"I'm never gonna let you down."

"That is…you are…" the blue hedgehog was having a hard time deciding who to be angry at. "Tell me you're not doing this!"

But it was too late. The Ultimate Lifeform had already stood up, grabbed a microphone from the plothole fairy and was in full swing. "I'm never gonna run around or deseeert you…!"

Sonic flung a pillow, but missed.

"Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbyyye…"

"Right now I wish you would…" Sonic groaned. In his opinion, the inventor of today's date should be lined up against a wall and shot.

"_Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you_!" Shadow finished, threw the microphone away and looked at Sonic expectantly. "Well? A romantic enough confession scene for you?"

"Fuck, _no_."

"Oh." The black hedgehog looked a bit crestfallen. "Well…then what are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know what you'll be doing," Sonic said, slipping off the bed and striding toward the door. "But _I'm_ leaving."

"But – where are you going to go?" The black hedgehog frowned. "This fic isn't over yet!"

"Well, it may be news to you," Sonic shot back, stopping and turning for a moment to jab a finger into Shadow's chest, "But _I_ never wanted to star in a yaoi fic. I wanted to be…a lumberjack!"

"Say what?!" Now it was Shadow's turn to look a bit put out, especially since the blue hedgehog now proceeded to don a red-and-black checkered flannel shirt and opened the door to their dormitory which appeared to lead into an open forest.

"Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!" he exclaimed, striding through the shrubs now surrounding them, Shadow, frankly a bit dumbfounded, stumbling behind, "The Giant Redwood. The Larch. The Fir! The mighty Scots Pine!"

„Look, you left _readers _pining here, not-"

"The lofty flowering Cherry! The plucky little Apsen! The limping Roo tree of Nigeria!"

"What – this isn't -!" Shadow stammered, then stopped in his pursuit of the newborn botanist Sonic the Hedgehog when he suddenly recognized another familiar face. "Rouge?!" he asked. "Hey, readers have been wondering when you'd show up…say, is Jet alright?" he questioned with a frown as he noted that the bat held the hawk in her arms and he was apparently dead.

"No, he's not! Now what about my bloody parrot?!" The female treasure hunter barked at him and Shadow would have taken that as his cue to flee the scene, had not Sonic returned at this very moment and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"With my best buddy by my side, we'd sing! Sing! Sing!" He took a deep breath. "Iii'm a lumberjack and I'm okay-!"

"SSTOP IT!"

"Lazar? Oh, _no,_" Shadow mumbled as he now with rising despair noticed the purple lizard striding close. "What – wait, why are you wearing a colonel's uniform…?"

"Sstop thiss fic at once! Thiss iss _sssilly_!"

"…is it?" Sonic had stopped singing now and looked faintly guilty.

"Yess!" the reptile snapped, obviously furious. "A possible lemon sscene! Almosst the firssst kisss after innumerable chaptersss! And you make a Monty Python joke!"

"And a rickroll, actually," Shadow pointed out. "Don't forget my dialogue."

"Yup, and I actually think they're gonna kill us for that if we don't get the real chapter up tomorrow," Sonic grinned and waved. "Happy April fools' day, everybody! And now, let's repeat this scene for a couple times so it actually looks like a proper chapter at first glance…"

_To be continued… _

_

* * *

_I'm sorry. I'm so incredibly sorry. But I just couldn't resist. I hope you're all having a blast today anyway and please take reassurance in that Sonic really wasn't lying when he said the real chapter will be up tomorrow...or at least soonish. XD

And now, all together:

_We're no strangers to looove_

_But you know the rules, and - so do I! _

_It's a full commitment I'm thinking of..._

_You wouldn't get this from any other fic! _

_NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP,_

_NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN-_

(is shot - mercy killing, if ever there was one.)


	31. Partners In Crime

**Chapter 30: Partners (In Crime)**

"Well, here we are. Back for another night in the Kingdom of Nightmares," Sonic commented as they had arrived in front of the Prince's dormitory again. A part of him was nervous as hell about sharing the bed with Shadow again, yet another yearned for his closeness…

"Yes. Dinner should have been delivered here, in case you're hungry," Shadow replied, opening the door to enter, but looked up in mild surprise when Sonic didn't follow his tugging at the leash. He jabbed his thumb behind him.

"Yeah, I'll be coming right in. Just gotta go for little hedgehogs."

"Ah," Shadow managed, but then again, he shouldn't be surprised. Just because he had denied himself food and drink for six days now, it didn't mean Sonic had. And the exhaust had to go somewhere...

"Well, er, be quick," he said hurriedly, unhooking the leash from his good-natured slave who only winked.

"Hey, who do you think you're talking to?" he asked, grinned, and vanished in a blink. Shadow only shook his head.

Sonic whizzed through the corridors of the castle in seconds. The next lavatory – or the hole in a stone bench that qualified for one around here - wasn't very far, anyway, and at this time of night (they had wandered around in the garden until late after dark) there was hardly anybody about. Sonic opened the door to the room that contained the drop-off with a chute leading down to the moat of the castle and his snout crinkled in disgust at the stench.

_Urgh. Whoever invented plumbing and modern sewage systems is the greatest person ever to live. __I'll never make fun of Mario's job again, I promise...__  
_

Finishing his business, Sonic sighed once more. These people didn't even know toilet paper. He was often living in the wilderness on his adventures but at least there would be leaves or something.

He was glad to be leaving the room again and made for the door. With no one about anyway, he probably wouldn't even have to use his super speed for invisibility on his way back.

Or so he thought until Lord Drago stepped into the room.

Sonic froze.

"Oh dear. Look what the night delivered to me."

The blue hedgehog's eyes narrowed. The cleverest thing to do would be to run away, but the large bulk of the dingo was blocking the doorway. And then his leg shot out to close the wooden gate with a loud _thud_.

Trapped.

For a brief second, the paralysis of his nightmare tried to overcome him again, but Sonic shook it off. This time he wasn't half-sedated by drugs but fully awake and if Drago tried anything, he would regret it.

The white dingo advanced with a swagger.

"Well, well, pleasure slave…still out and about breaking rules, I see."

Sonic didn't say anything. He was well aware that Black Doom had placed the death penalty on his head if he was to disobey again. If it became known that he had wandered about freely, then they would be left with no option but to flee from the castle, making obtaining the Emerald so much harder.

_And I would have disappointed Shadow…_shot through Sonic's head in a flash, emerald eyes subtly widening. He didn't want this to happen. If he could escape from this room before Drago could get his paws on him, then he'd be back in the dorm within another second – and the canine lord would be left with no proof he'd ever been free at all.

But the dingo seemed to have read his thoughts and was blocking the route to the door as he prowled toward Sonic.

"Last time you dared to attack me, slave. I don't think I have to assure you that if you should only _whimper_ in resistance this time, you will be put down…"

The white-furred dog had backed the smaller hedgehog into a corner now, the hero of Mobius battling his internal fight-or-flight impulses. That is, wait…

"Leave me alone. You're not allowed to touch me anymore," Sonic replied grimly, glaring up at his tormentor.

The dingo raised an eye brow and then, without warning, suddenly hooked his finger into Sonic's loose collar.

"A black collar, then, I see. You're the personal property of the Crown Prince now."

"Yes. And it means you back the hell off," the hero of Mobius snarled, "Or _you_ will be the one in trouble." It felt a little bit odd for once to use the thing that usually weakened his position as a defense, but Sonic didn't care as long as it got him out of there.

"No, I don't think so," Drago drawled and then abruptly brought his wolfish grin down to leer at Sonic up close. "For you see, I am a very vengeful person. I want to mutilate you. See you screaming in pain for your impunity. Brutally ravage you until you can bear it no more. And later, when they find you, I will simply tell them that you attacked me first, _again_. Who will they believe, little hedgehog, the noble of the Higher Court or the disobedient, snivelling wretch of a bed slave…?"

A soft creaking sound attracted Sonic's attention. He then carefully worded his next sentence, trying hard to contain his incandescent fury that once more threatened to overwhelm him.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you."

"No, of course you wouldn't." Drago gave a twisted chuckle. "But what would you slave know about the pleasure of simply _taking _another creature, claiming them as your own by violating their innermost regions?" He suddenly grabbed Sonic's hips again, his thumbs digging into his abdomen before the blue hedgehog, sickened beyond words by the Sapient's speech, could react. "And those as slim as you, they are so _tight, _oh yes…"

Sonic gasped in disgust, ripping the paws off himself.

"You are the _sickest creature _I've ever seen and that includes Robotnik_. _You realize Shadow is going to kill you for this, don't you?"

The dingo laughed briefly, then immediately threw a backhanded strike at Sonic's head, his mood swings akin a schizophrenic.

"How dare you speak your Master's name?" he bellowed.

Sonic dodged the swing nimbly, his eyes never leaving the dingo's face. A smirk twisted the edge of his mouth.

"Easy. It's 'Shadow'. Sha-dow. Say it with me. Hey, Shads!" he called, suddenly waving at something behind the white-furred noble.

Drago snorted. "That, slave, has to be the oldest trick in the book."

"_Well, then, it's odd that sometimes it works, isn't it?" _

Sonic virtually could see the blood drain from the canine's face. The dingo spun around.

Only a few metres away from them, surrounded by moonlight falling through the open door, stood the single most ticked-off Ultimate Lifeform he had ever set eyes on.

Shadow _glowed _with fury.

"B-but my Prince," the white-furred dog stuttered, stumbling backward with both paws held out in a what he probably hoped was a calming manner, "I didn't – I…your slave tried to seduce me – TELL HIM!" he barked at Sonic, his face screwed up in despair and fury.

Sonic, however, was leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed, distinctly unimpressed.

"Sorry, _buddy. _I don't wanna know what you've done to how many others in this castle, but it ends tonight." His voice was as cold as his glare, burning holes into the dingo as he stared at him unwavering. Sonic knew that right now he probably was the single being in this castle with a chance of stopping Shadow, but he was disinclined to lift only a single finger for the albino lord.

"Now, now, my Prince, please do not be hasty-" Drago's voice rose distinctly in pitch and panic as he backed away ever further, dark blue eyes abruptly widening as Shadow whipped out a hand that suddenly held crackling emerald fire.

"There is no excuse for your actions, dog. Prepare for the consequences," Shadow snarled, eyes blazing as brightly as the Energy in his grasp.

"Have – have mercy-!"

"Mercy?_ Wrong address_," Shadow smirked darkly. "CHAOS SPEAR!" he yelled, at the same time sending a bright lance of lightning blasting through the room, illuminating faces akin a thunderstorm. The dingo did not even have time to scream as it tore through his chest.

To Sonic it seemed almost as if in slow-motion as the dingo collapsed at Shadow's feet. The Ultimate Lifeform's hand was still outstretched, his face unmoving as the body hit the ground, the only movement a cold breeze coming in through the window and ruffling their fur after it was over, almost as if nothing had happened at all.

Shadow sighed and dropped his hand. Sonic dislodged himself from the wall.

"Did you…kill him?" he asked, approaching the body slowly, his tone not betraying any feelings.

"Probably not," Shadow shook his head. "When I don't have an Emerald to focus the surrounding Energy, I cannot draw as much. Ergo, the Spear would have been weaker than my usual ones. There _is_ the possibility of brain or motor damage, though," he added with a wry smirk. He prodded the prone dingo with his foot. "Maybe we'll be lucky and this one will never be able to walk again."

"Probably still won't help," Sonic said grimly, looking down at his tormentor from his nightmares, but failing to feel any pity. "The way they've broken their slaves here, the poor wretches would probably come to his bedside if he told them to, too frightened to disobey." The hero of Mobius sounded bitter.

Shadow shot him a sideways glance. "You _want _me to kill him?"

"No." Sonic shook his head a bit unwillingly. "Let's not sink to their level. I'm here to stop you, remember?" he asked, giving a brief, faint smile before he became serious again. "No, we need to wreck this whole screwed-up system to really keep these people safe, and you know it. You _suggested_ it."

"Yes, Sonic, I know that and I already agreed to any and all of your _kamikaze-_schemes. What more do you want from me?"

"Nothing," his supposed slave smiled and stepped past him toward their dorm. "_Except_ for that race, of course." He winked, but then paused next to him and stopped as if something had suddenly occurred to him. Shadow raised an eye ridge as the blue hedgehog turned around once more and wondered whether he was imagining the faint tinge of red on the other one's cheeks now. Sonic gave another half-smile. "And…I guess I should say 'thank you', huh?"

Shadow blinked, expression blank for a moment as if he really had never been expecting to hear _that_ phrase. "...you're welcome," he replied, the words sounding slightly strange coming from the usually unsociable dark hedgehog, almost as if he had been trained a long time ago to say them, but had never done so before. "Not that you'd actually have needed my help," he amended straight after.

"No," Sonic said easily, but his gaze was still warm, despite the fact that there was currently lying a body at their feet. "But it was nice of you, still."

"What can I say? You're my responsibility," Shadow replied smoothly, his intestines doing a little bubbly back-flip at the way Sonic's lips twitched as he said it. By now he wanted nothing more than to run a hand along Sonic's head quills, showing for once a physical sign of his affection…

_This is getting ridiculous. What are you, a timid, love-struck teen? _Shadow inwardly scolded himself and took a little breath.

Slowly, tentatively, he then reached out until his hand made contact with the head fur of his supposed slave, running a hand along the quills as gently as carefully.

Sonic at once looked at him, eyes widened in slight surprise, but not trying to escape the continuing touch, frozen in place.

Shadow's fingers trailed along once more, the Ultimate Lifeform's heart racing as he feared rejection, repulsion from the blue hedgehog. But, in fact, the next thing was that Sonic inclined his head ever so slightly, allowing his supposed Master to caress him even further and he even, for one brief moment, closed his eyes at the touch.

Shadow's body was rigid with apprehension in every fibre of his being. This couldn't possibly be happening…his hand ceased his motion to gently cup the side of Sonic's muzzle instead, lifting his head slightly and emerald eyes opened again to look at him, questioning and expectant now.

Shadow tried to take a breath. Air was something that had become somewhat of a rarity all of a sudden. He had never done this before. In the movies he had watched with Maria long ago, it had always seemed so easy, but now his tongue was not only filled with lead, but also encased in cement and currently in trouble with the mafia.

"Sonic, I…" he struggled for words and the silence seemed to stretch.

"…'like you'?" the blue hedgehog suggested as Shadow still held him, his lips twitching into a small smile that always seemed to come so easily to the blue speedster.

Shadow could only nod, his throat now most definitely constricted. Sonic's eyes shone just a bit brighter as his smile became a full-fledged grin.

"Good. Because I think I like you, too…faker."

The words seemed to ignite Chaos fire works inside the Ultimate Lifeform's body. The hand that had lain on the side of Sonic's face now slid wordlessly onto the back of his neck, the black hedgehog slowly moving Sonic's head forward, his supposed slave not resisting, his grin merely becoming a small smile again, his lips closing…

"Shadow…" he whispered, closing his eyes and then tan lips had already found fawn.

Sonic's chest was suddenly filled with hummingbirds' wings (the standard butterfly edition much too slow, of course) as their mouths touched, never having been kissed before.

Shadow's lips were molding softly against his own, the blue hedgehog almost forgetting the rest of the world. But then, his supposed Master suddenly took a step forward, bringing their bodies closer together while wrapping his other arm around Sonic as well. Now the blue hedgehog found himself pressed against Shadow, his lips forced apart by something moist, realizing with shock that Shadow's tongue was trying to invade his mouth. Instinctively, he pulled back.

"Nnngh – Shadow!"

"What? Is something wrong?" the black hedgehog asked, frowning. They were still standing out in the corridor, Sonic tight in his Master's embrace. Shadow wasn't sure what he'd done wrong. He'd simply copied Rouge in her actions when the bat had kissed him on that drunken night – wasn't that how you were supposed to do it?

"No…not exactly…" Sonic hesitated.

"Didn't you want this?" Shadow asked now, alarmed. Had he somehow misread his supposed slave_?_!

"No, that's not it," Sonic gave a small chuckle, apparently amused at the Ultimate Lifeform's panicky reaction. "It's just…that was a bit fast, you know? Trying to jump straight to French kissing."

"Oh. Sorry," Shadow mumbled. Then he raised an eye ridge, as if an idea had suddenly struck him. "What, something too fast for _you_, blue hedgehog?"

"_Don't_ you start," Sonic shot back, pushing a bit against Shadow's embrace as if to make a point and then tapping the black hedgehog lightly on the pointy nose with his index finger, giving a little cocky grin. "Let's just stick to normal kissing for now, okay?"

"Point taken," Shadow replied and leaned straight in for more.

xxx

"I only hope someone somewhere is at least having fun…" Tails groaned, facing the dilemmas of 'The Apocalypse Is Neigh' and 'My Brother Has Lost His Marbles Completely' and having trouble deciding which one was worse. "Because Chaos knows it isn't me."

xxx

Sonic was burning up under Shadow's kiss. His eyes were closed, his hands now hesitantly grasping his supposed Master's sides, feeling the thick black fur under his bare fingers. The black hedgehog smelled just like he had in his first nightmare, spicy, smoky, like a dangerous fire. But unlike the monster in his dream this Shadow was so much gentler with him, let him feel so much safer…

"How about we go inside?" Shadow asked. "You know, before they find the body and connect it with us."

Sonic chuckled. It figured that he'd end up in a relationship where sentences like this would be uttered. He'd shied away from Amy's advances not only because he saw the girl as a friend, but also because he'd feared the domestic component a partner brought with them…the boring, entrapping, _normalcy_…but with Shadow that would be the _least_ of his worries.

"Yeah. Let's."

Shadow pushed Sonic through the door backwards, again planting a searing kiss on his mouth before then suddenly bending his head downwards and brushing his muzzle against Sonic's neck. The younger hedgehog shuddered, never having been touched like this before. His eyes slid closed and he threw his head backwards as the other's breath blew over his offered throat. Sonic gasped quietly, his hands skittering over Shadow's body, so not sure where to go. He suppressed a little yelp as briefly Shadow's tongue licked over the nook where his neck met his torso and forced himself not to shudder under his supposed Master's touch. He wouldn't give the black hedgehog _everything _he asked for.

Shadow was enjoying himself at the moment. True, he wasn't exactly sure what you were supposed to do in the situation he currently found himself in, but it was sure a helluva lot of fun to learn…exploring Sonic with hands, nose and mouth proved to be a wonderful journey right now and it was amusing to hear what kind of sounds he could force out of the other this way…he _loved _the feeling of the other squirming beneath his touch when he could get him to do it.

A gloved hand ran down Sonic's back carefully, evading his sharp spikes with expert skill and the blue hedgehog could feel his knees weakening as he bit his lips to stifle another whimper. He needed to get back control, but he could barely stand – he needed to sit down. A surface, any surface – Shadow was surprised as Sonic took a step to the side, pulling him down to sit on the bed. He nuzzled the side of the blue hedgehog's head, grateful for the pleasure of being allowed to do that.

"Mmh…I'm quite fortunate my alien dictator dad bought me you as a pleasure slave," he teased, chuckling quietly into Sonic's ear.

"Anybody but you would have been very _un_fortunate if I had traded places with their slave instead," Sonic murmured back. "_Don't_ get any ideas of owning me any time soon." As if to underline his point, he twisted his head and this time it was he who pulled Shadow into a kiss. The black one smirked when Sonic let him get up for air.

"I think it's a bit late for that now, Sonic…" he trailed one finger suggestively along the other's neck where the black choker clung loosely to the blue fur. Sonic instinctively bent a bit backwards at his vulnerable neck being touched and Shadow gladly took advantage, using the opportunity to gently force Sonic onto his back again. Leaning over the blue speedster with both his hands next to his head, he smirked. "Being comfortable, are we…?"

Sonic's heart was pumping as if he was running at at least Mach 3. Shadow leaned over him, half lying on top of him and for some reason Sonic felt too paralyzed to even struggle.

"You're…heavy."

Not exactly the most romantic words, but _you_ try to be coherent in this situation.

"Higher muscular and skeletal density for maximum stability and power output," the genetically engineered Ultimate Lifeform replied with ease. "Professor Gerald's design," he added with a certain pride.

A hand of his stroked along Sonic's side, all the way down to the hip and onto his thigh. A part of Shadow wanted to know how much Sonic would permit him, how far he could go…trying hard to control his desire, Shadow slowly inched his way onto the inner side of the toned blue leg, hearing Sonic's breathing quickening ever so slightly as his fingers dug into the thigh.

"Having fun?" He asked innocently, looking into emerald eyes that had trouble to stay focused.

"I…I don't think I'm quite ready for _that…" _gasped Sonic. It was probably a very rare sentence uttered by a male, Sonic thought, but the collared hedgehog was being tossed about by waves of lust and fear alike. He _wanted _Shadow, but the idea of submitting to…the next step…still freaked him out. Sonic knew people often thought of him as reckless and not afraid of anything, but a part of him now felt as terrified as he'd been at twelve years of age, facing his first killer robot. The nightmare hadn't been a coincidence – it had merely dragged all the worries of Sonic's subconscious concerning a relationship with a male to the forefront.

"Hmm…you sure?" Shadow asked and only rubbed a little bit more insistent and higher on the inside of Sonic's thigh, letting the blue hedgehog moan involuntarily.

If Shadow kept this up only another minute, Sonic knew he'd lose it, his body betraying him and delivering him right into an adventure he knew he wasn't quite prepared for…!

"Yes," he finally managed to say with a supreme effort of will, at the same time grasping Shadow's wrist to stop the torturous motions of his hand. "Yes, I'm sure, Shadow."

"Hmm…_really _sure?" Shadow asked with a smirk as his limb was re-directed away from Sonic's lower body and onto the peach-furred chest again. He wasn't about to force his supposed slave. He knew Rouge had pushed him hard until he'd finally given in, using much the same tactics he'd employed until now, but he didn't want this to be the same, loveless experience for Sonic. If the blue hedgehog didn't want this at the moment, he'd acquiesce.

"Yeah. Keep your hands there, much better." Sonic gave a (slightly nervous) chuckle. He _hated _not knowing how to act, a relatively novel experience for him. But just lying here with Shadow, it was…nice, anyway…

"If you wish," Shadow replied, kissing him again and letting all doubts of his blue lover vanish. "But at least let me hold you for the night."

"Well, I guess that's okay…" Sonic managed, before already being turned around, now lying on his side facing Shadow, one hand of the black hedgehog on his chest, the other arm draped over him and embedded in the fur on the back of his head. The light surprise at being moved gave in to another lazy smile quickly as Shadow began moving his fingers ever so slightly, gently scratching Sonic's blue and peach fur.

"You're mine, Sonic," he whispered, nuzzling the other's forehead contentedly. "As long as you'll let me."

"Right now I don't mind…" the blue hero replied quietly, his mind drifting in blissful happiness curled up against Shadow. The hand buried in his head fur started to massage him slightly, Shadow's thumb rubbing him just behind his ear. Sonic was surprised as he couldn't stop a low purring sensation rising all the way up his throat, sounding like a sleepy tiger.

"Happy to hear that," Shadow smiled down at his docile pet and lover, another surge of pleasure erupting within him as Sonic consented to press his muzzle into the white chest fur that decorated his torso, wanting to be close to him.

And contrary to Tails, neither of them could have been happier as they finally drifted off to sleep.

_Fin_

Nah, just jerking you around. XD

_To be continued..._

* * *

Heyyy, there you go! I didn't have this up sooner, mostly because due to jet lag I slept straight through the entirety of April 2nd and then yesterday I thought that this would actually make for a great Easter present instead if I uploaded it today. :) Hope you liked! (Also, I hope no hard feelings from the AF joke thing...then again, if you thought this was mean, you shoulda seen what I pulled on my _other _account. XD But you're an awesome crowd and lookit, we made it to over 500 reviews!

Finally, I have the great pleasure to announce a third piece of FANART! It's by RyukoVulpix (her name on here) aka KimYoshiko on devArt. Her fanfics are great as well, so feel free to check out either, link on my profile. It's from chapter 29, just before they're about to go rolling down the hill. :)

Of course, the adventure is far from over, instead, now things are only starting to get really intense. :P I mean world ending, war about to start, dinner with dad...they're in for one hell of a ride. Hope you're looking forward to it and if you read, please review? ;) _  
_


	32. A New Dawn

**Chapter 31: ****A New Dawn **

Later that night, Shadow was still sound asleep but Sonic was once more half-awake, perhaps having been startled by some sort of movement of the other. The black hedgehog's arms were still encircling him and the hero of Mobius could feel the other's heartbeat (slightly slower than his own) and hear his breathing in the embrace he was held. To a part of Sonic, it was still weird as hell - or weird as heaven. The blue speedster could feel one of Shadow's hands on his shoulder, his supposed owner's grip still a little bit firm even in his sleep, proprietorial and perhaps...protective?

Sonic played with the thought of struggling against the possessive embrace simply on principle, but decided against it. As long as it didn't become too warm, he was happy to stay where he was. Sighing in content, he curled up once more against his midnight Master, a little bit bolder in his affections when the black hedgehog wasn't technically conscious. He did feel safe being close to him now, though. After all, Shadow had proven both at the pool and just now in bed that when Sonic insisted on a 'No', he would not try to force him. Again, a cold shudder ran down the hero's spine as he briefly thought that if he'd been made a real slave, and been born without the power he possessed, his Master would have made him submit...

Sonic tilted his head slightly upwards and briefly nuzzled his unconscious owner's face.

_We'll save this world, Shads. Together. _

That night, there were no nightmares.

xxx

"Right. So, we get a psychiatrist or what?" Knuckles asked, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Or, if Sonic keeps scratching at Shadow's containment tank like this, I'm going to call the vet instead..."

"Knuckles, _please_!" Tails called, giving both the echidna and his somewhat eccentrically behaving older brother a pained look. "I'm sure there's an explanation for this!"

"Yeah. He's either eaten one Chili Dog too many or finally got a concussion from all the loop-de-loop running he does," the Guardian of Angel Island deadpanned, ignoring that the little fox was about to break into pieces or maybe give _himself_ a concussion to make this all easier. "Look, _will_ you stop doing that!" he barked instead at the blue hedgehog, who immediately uncharacteristically flinched. Shadow was still lying unconscious in the Chaos Energy Containment Unit, a glassy box that was supposed to be able to hold the Ultimate Lifeform even if he should start with his trademark Spears and Blasts. Come to think of it, he hadn't used them so far though, hadn't he...

The nasty side-effect of this imprisonment had been that Sonic now was continuing to kneel in front of it, paw and scratch at the glass and whimper 'Master...' at random intervalls, though. Had Knuckles been watching a certain TV-show, this would have very much reminded him of a badly-written Doctor Who slash fic. As it was, the ragged blue hedgehog only ceased his pitiful scratching to instead address Knuckles' boots.

"Please...let him go. He is the Prince, he shouldn't be treated like this."

"The 'Prince' of _what_, Persia? The nuthouse? Sonic, what has gotten _into_ you?!" Knuckles asked, running a hand through his wildly-tangled dreadlocks, appearing somewhat desperate at seeing his once proud rival reduced to this wreck.

The blue hedgehog shook his head. "I told you, my name isn't Sonic. My Master hasn't yet given me one," he said meekly, still not raising his gaze from the floor.

"That's it. I'm calling some professional help, right now," Knuckles muttered, hoping Rouge was at least having better luck with that missing Emerald. Ten hours had already passed since their ultimatum and unfortunately, the two biggest world experts on Chaos Emerald-hunting seemed right now stuck in the middle of some sort of period play. _Honestly, I can't possibly imagine how this day could get any worse_, the red-furred echidna thought, and of course, at this point the black hedgehog finally woke up, took one look at his new situation and then immediately started insulting everyone and their ancestry back to biblical times.

xxx

At the other end of the multiverse (and in a much better mood), another collared blue hedgehog awoke to faint sunlight on his back with a hand lying on his belly. It took him a couple of moments to realize it wasn't his own.

"Huh...?" Groggily, he tried to focus on the foreign object, blinking as his brain booted itself for another day of highspeed activities.

"Morning, faker. Slept well?" The hand then actually _twitched_ at these words, gloved fingers digging themselves cruelly into sensitive, soft belly fur and Sonic instantly yelped, twisting away only to find himself staring up at a deviously smirking Shadow sitting on the bedside. "Up with the birds, I see."

"Well, _somebody_ sure had a clown for breakfast today..." Sonic responded dryly, still covering the offended area with a hand of his own. Then, he almost blushed as memories of last night began to explode in his head with a vengeance, as he could intimately recall just where else on his body those gloved hands had traveled...had it all really happened?

The next thing he heard was a sudden, high-pitched scream from a female somewhere in the corridors outside, and afterwards lots of foot-trampling suggested a middle-sized circus coming to town. The general 'OMYGODITSLORDDRAGO!' was not to be mistaken, though. Sonic winced and concluded that yes, last night had very much happened indeed.

"Oh. They discovered the body?"

"I think so." Shadow nodded. "They'll have fun trying to trace it, though, I don't think anyone but the echidnas in this world has any idea what damage inflicted by Chaos Energy looks like. Maybe they'll even think a demon of some sort attacked him." Shadow gave a brief twitching of the lips as if he thought that would be oddly appropriate. Then, his voice neutral again, he gave Sonic a sort of once-over. "So…how do you feel?" he asked, only a slight wariness in his gaze betraying his calm demeanour as he now looked at his pretend pet, the blue hedgehog shifting slightly on his supposed owner's bed. Since he was physically fine, he knew the question wasn't simply referring to his well-being, but probably rather to their actions last night…

Sonic smiled. "Actually, I think I feel pretty good."

The younger hedgehog wondered whether only a week ago he would have been able to notice the minute slackening in Shadow's posture that meant the Ultimate Lifeform was now relaxing after being tensed up. He didn't smile, but there was a certain shine to his red eyes now that the blue speedster had become to associate with Shadow feeling good about something. The collared hero almost snorted.

_Chaos__. I really am starting to take this whole being-a-slave-thing too seriously…_after all, wouldn't it have been vital for somebody owned by another person to be able to read his Master's mood swings down to the very last detail, so he wouldn't be on the receiving end of his wrath on a bad day…?

_But then again, don't…couples…do the same? Know their partner so well they would spot a hair of their coat out of place? _

Sonic didn't know but he thought he'd read that somewhere. He wasn't sure whether it was correct, but he did notice how he now was actually starting to think of himself and Shadow as in a relationship…another warm surge washed through him as he realized and prompted him to scooch a bit closer to Shadow, the lining of his stomach feeling as fizzy as it usually only did when he was on the verge of a new adventure. A lazy grin crept onto his features as he leaned forward, kneeling on the soft mattress with both his hands supporting his posture, head tilted slightly upwards to face Shadow, offering. He could feel his new collar clinging to the skin of his neck where his head was bent backwards, but it didn't annoy him at the moment, not when Shadow looked at him like this…

"Did _you_ sleep well?" he asked, somehow managing to make even that question sound more like a challenge.

"In fact, I did," Shadow drawled, now also moving closer and lightly placing one hand of his below Sonic's chin, gauging the collared hero's reaction. When emerald eyes lit up at the contact, Shadow almost smiled. "So, what do you want to today…?"

"I dunno," Sonic gave an amiable shrug. "You own me, you decide," he teased, glad that in their little roleplay he for once didn't have to take the lead when he didn't feel like it. A smirk spread across Shadow's features at his words.

"Oh? I own you now, do I?" he asked mockingly, at the same time hooking one of his fingers under the loose choker and tugging slightly to make Sonic bend forward more. The blue hedgehog obeyed gladly, happy about the fact both of them seemed to be enjoying their new situation and it had not been a mistake last night.

"Well, if you can manage to keep me…" Sonic could feel his lips stretching into his familiar cocky grin, before black arms already wrapped around him again, and Shadow brought the two of them in for a kiss.

"Mmh…" Sonic moaned slightly (despite being careful not to open his mouth too much – no need for Shadow to get a face full of morning breath, after all), little explosions of tingling electricity erupting all over his body as the black hedgehog nibbled lightly at his lower lip, catching it between sharp hedgehog teeth. Shadow took this momentary lapse in fighting spirit as Sonic went limp as an opportunity to gently push him backwards onto his elbows again (and Sonic felt as if he was starting to recognize a pattern here…) His eyes fluttered shut as the Ultimate Lifeform's tongue darted briefly out of his mouth and gave a small, tentative lick to his muzzle, causing Sonic's body to abruptly arch against his supposed Master's. "_Ah_-!"

Shadow chuckled above him. "You seem to be fairly easy to please, my pet."

"Just trying to please my owner," Sonic retorted smoothly, managing (what he hoped was) a seductive tone. Oh, how he wished there weren't more pressing concerns that his conscience had to remind him of…

"Of course, if you wanted to please me even more, you'd stop harassing your poor bed slave and come up with a battle plan to overthrow three-eyed and crazy still sitting on the throne," he added non-chalantly, at the same time lightly tapping a finger onto Shadow's chest and trailing it down through black fur. Shadow above him stopped his advances, instead looking into Sonic's eyes with a certain calculation. He could see the playful (lustful?) sparkle still shining on the surface, but there was also a certain seriousness deeper within, as if that emerald gaze was as soft and yielding as the grass on a meadow – right until you saw the greenstone blade hidden beneath the leaves.

Inwardly the Ultimate Lifeform sighed, but it contained more dry amusement than actual frustration. He should know it by now. No matter how docile and submissive the blue hedgehog would act when Shadow laid claim to his body, at his core Sonic the Hedgehog was still the indomitable hero, who would fight against any injustice he saw until his heart stopped beating.

"Well," Shadow began, a part of his mind still more preoccupied with tracing the contours of Sonic's slender form beneath him with his eyes, "I'd have thought that we wait until Black Doom presents the Chaos Emerald to impress his guests at tonight's dinner. As soon as the thing is in sight, both of us dart forward, attacking from two different sides so as to create the maximum amount of confusion – try and unleash a sonic boom, if you can. When one of us has grasped the Emerald, I strongly suggest no Chaos Control unless the situation becomes an emergency – we don't know that much of this world or its Chaos field yet, and Chaos Control has a habit of doing the unpredictable." The Ultimate Lifeform snorted briefly, indicating that their current situation was proof enough.

"Instead, we should retreat through the window, sprinting down the walls. The banquet should be held in the throne room which means, leaving through the window we can make our way down to the courtyard, where we should be able to escape through the castle gate - open because of the expected visitors. Once outside, we can make our way to the enemy troops, thereby buying us some time…" Shadow frowned as he tried to remember where Lazar had told him Aleena's troops had advanced to, but when he had been bored in his lessons, he had never counted on getting involved in the messy war they had going down here.

_That day seems like a lifetime ago, anyway, _Shadow mused. Even though they had only been here for what, six days including the one they arrived on? Almost impossible that it hadn't been longer…

"Huh, you seem to have that planned out pretty well," Sonic replied, raising an acknowledging eye ridge. Shadow was really quite good at this pre-meditating business, he had to admit again. Sonic was much better at making up something clever on the spot – which had served him well in fights against Shadow before, when it had seemed he was losing and he had managed to turn the situation around at the last minute, much to the Ultimate Lifeform's chagrin each time. But it was quite cool going in with some planned course of action nevertheless…_I'd say we really complement each other, if only it wasn't so damn cheesy_, Sonic thought with a chuckle.

Aloud, he said: "Should we go to the echidnas? You know where they are, right?" _And I could see Tails again_, he added silently, but they both knew what he meant.

"I'm not sure," Shadow admitted. "I don't think they would be too happy seeing me again. They might attempt to take me prisoner of war."

"Well, would serve you right to for once be the one who's got his hands tied," Sonic retorted mischievously and was only interrupted when there was a knock at the door.

"My Prince?" A concerned Greytail could be heard from outside. Shadow gave Sonic a cursory glance, seemed to decide that the blue hedgehog's current position looked submissive enough and gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Yes? What is it?"

The door opened and the worried gray cat stepped inside, taking no apparent notice of Sonic now being straddled by his supposed Master on the bed. He swallowed before he started talking.

"This night there has been an unexplained attack on a noble of the Higher Court, Lord Drago. He has not yet regained consciousness and we are not sure whether it will turn out lethal. We must regard it as the work of the escaped ninja from the Eastern Realms we had held prisoner so far."

Shadow nodded, trying to appear concerned. It had to be this dimension's version of Espio he had seen a couple of days ago led on a leash by Lazar. Well, good for him. Pity these idiots didn't know that with his powers of stealth the chameleon probably wouldn't even have needed to kill anyone on his flight, but good for them if the attack could be pinned onto somebody else.

"Indeed. How alarming," Shadow replied with all the concern of a concrete block. "Has the culprit been apprehended?"

"Unfortunately, not as of yet," the cat replied, his tail curling in a way Sonic knew indicated discomfort in felines, "However, we are doing our utmost to catch him again."

Sonic and Shadow briefly exchanged a glance that could be literally translated with 'Well, good luck with _that,_' (or, rather, 'Bwahahah!') but didn't voice their thoughts. Greytail continued.

"I am therefore here to suggest you let us give you further protection in case he tries to go after you as well, my Prince," the servant finished, probably already knowing the immediate frown on Shadow's face could mean no good.

"I think I am perfectly capable of defending myself. Are you suggesting I'm not?"

"Of course I am not, my Prince," the cat hastily replied with diplomacy easily born from years of survival instinct acquired living at Black Doom's court, "But of course, even you would have to rest sometimes, knowing the responsibility you bear for your father's kingdom…"

"I have trained Sonic as a watchdog," Shadow replied flatly. "At night, he is tied to the wall tightly enough so as not to allow him to sleep. He has learned well so far and would know to warn me," the black hedgehog said, trying to ignore the eye roll from the blue speedster beneath him who still couldn't believe the permanent cascade of cruelties his supposed Master claimed to be inflicting on him. "You have got to understand that I rank my privacy most highly."

"Ce-certainly," Greytail nodded unhappily, his wish for a bit more cooperation from the dark Prince obvious, but futile. "I'll tell the Captain of the Guard. If you ever wish for additional protection, or notice anything out of the ordinary, please do not hesitate to tell us."

"Yes. You can leave now," Shadow replied formally, at the same time placing a hand on Sonic's chest like a cat would press down on a mouse and the blue hedgehog whimpered in fright for the sake of the show. "I have _important _matters to take care of."

"Very...very well, my Prince." The cat swallowed. "As you wish." He closed the door again and both hedgehogs visibly relaxed. Sonic looked up at Shadow.

"Huh. How long until they would finally catch on if we didn't bust this place tonight, whaddaya think?"

"Not too sure," Shadow replied disinterestedly, before a mere hint of a smirk stole onto his features again. "Although, given your emerging acting skills…that whimper you gave sounded _extremely_ believable."

Sonic blushed and frowned faintly, looking away and wriggling a bit in his trapped position. "Yeah, well…don't count on me doing it again."

"Oh, my Prince! I'm sorry, but I forgot!"

Shadow briefly considered bending down and biting into the cushion. He would have much rather bitten into Greytail himself, but realized that that probably wouldn't be the wisest choice.

"What _now_?" He barked instead, hoping that the cat would take the hint and finally leave him and Sonic alone.

"I'm, I'm sorry my Prince, but the, er, trainer your father engaged has arrived and I've been ordered to collect your slave…." The grey-furred servant cringed a bit, apparently well aware of the supposed royal's wrath.

"Slave trainer," Shadow repeated, trying to ignore the saucer-eyed hedgehog beneath him at this point. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well, err, surely you remember, my Prince? Your personal slave has to have the grooming deemed fitting for his position as property of a royal. He also has to perform at top-level at the function tonight, and uh, well, so far…"

He let the sentence trail off, indicating that so far Sonic was closer to a blue-furred king of the jungle than the crippled, exotic house pet they were trying to create.

"How long will that take?" Shadow asked, attempting to get the situation back under control by collecting as much information as possible.

"Only a couple of hours, my Prince. And I'm very sure you'll be pleased with the results, he's known throughout the country as the best."

"Very well. But I want him back unharmed."

"_Shadow?!" _Sonic hissed beneath him. "You're not really going to-?"

"Please step outside. I'll have him leashed for you in a minute."

"Of course, my Prince. Thank you," Greytail nodded in obvious relief and closed the door quickly again. Sonic was on his feet in an instant.

"Woah, woah, woah. No way, José. Won't do it."

"_Sonic_." Shadow managed to pronounce the name without separating his teeth. "I had to go to lessons already while you ran around the castle throwing potatoes, if I recall correctly."

"I wasn't 'throwing potatoes', I was freeing-!"

"Please."

Just this one word. One word that Shadow uttered every so rarely, and when he did, it was even utterly devoid of a pleading or even an asking tone. But still.

"This is flippin blackmail." Sonic scowled. _And I'm the one to blame for this, 'cause I care enough about him to let him blackmail me. _

"If you won't consent to these lessons, they won't have you at the dinner," Shadow shrugged, at the same time picking up the leash. "Well?"

Sonic grit his teeth, once again eying the restraint he had hated and now barely tolerated as if it was meant to tie him up permanently.

"Ugh. Fine. Though I don't see what on Mobius you'd even need to teach a slave in this place. Except maybe how to strangle their owner with their own goddamn leash," he added in an acerbic tone. Sonic crossed his arms and turned his head away, giving Shadow tacit permission to leash him, but scowling and avoiding his gaze while he did it. A slight tugging produced another glower. Shadow already thought that whoever was supposed to be the slave trainer was in for a loooong day…

"Come on. It can't possibly be that bad. What will they do, teach you to give paw?"

"Very funny," Sonic grumbled, unwillingly following Shadow to the door, already knowing that this was likely to be the last conversation he'd have with somebody accepting that Sonic was a thinking individual for a while. Shadow shrugged.

"Not meant to be funny. I spent the first five years of my life surrounded by people thinking I wasn't much more than a lab animal, except the Robotniks. You think nobody ever tried to teach _me_ to 'give paw'?" Shadow retorted dryly, and Sonic went quiet once again, remembering that whatever was to happen to him, his supposed owner was likely to have been through worse. Next he couldn't hide a small chuckle, though, thinking that whoever had tried to get Shadow to 'give paw' had very probably lost their _own_ in the process.

The Ultimate Lifeform opened the door and stepped outside, Sonic in tow. Greytail, however, already looked contemplative again.

"Ah, my Prince. I was thinking that perhaps it would be best if you brought your fencing gear with you as well if we leave now to deliver your slave, since your lesson is about to begin soon in any case. Of course, I can carry it for you until we get to the court."

"Fencing lessons. Why am I not surprised?" Shadow deadpanned, knowing that next to him his supposed pet was already having trouble not to snort aloud. Greytail blinked.

"Well, er, of course because you yourself ordered them to be scheduled for today, my Prince-"

"Never. Mind." Shadow turned around and strode back into his dormitory, Sonic with little choice but to follow him, the black hedgehog only barely preventing himself from slamming the door and leaving a slightly confused Greytail outside.

"It's like there's some malicious entity out there to torture us," Shadow grumbled. "Why does this idiot prince have to take _fencing lessons_ of all things?"

Sonic shrugged, once more amused as soon as something had been able to annoy his supposed owner. "Meh. I think it's only fair if you're not having fun while I'm trained to, I dunno, fetch sticks or something." His eyes sparkled a little. "You know you're supposed to hold the blade at the blunt end, right?"

Shadow, who had been checking behind the drawers in search for the elusive fencing gear that was supposed to be in here, shot his non-tamed pet a death glare.

"Continue like this, and I'll make sure to tell the slave trainer that due to your inexperience you'll need much more lessons specifically tailored to a bed slave," he threatened and Sonic immediately went a little bit pale around the muzzle as he was again reminded of his status in this dimension.

"You…you wouldn't really do that, would you?" he asked, looking at Shadow, (who was halfway buried under the bed in his quest, trying to crawl past the carpet he'd shoved under there), but the Ultimate Lifeform only gave a non-committal grunt. "I mean…" Sonic swallowed, while Shadow finally gave an indistinct exclamation and pulled his spiky head out again, one hand indeed clutching what could have qualified as medieval fencing gear, "I mean…Shadow, what if they wanna do _stuff _to me?"

The Ultimate Lifeform gave him a long glace for a moment. Then:

"In that case, lie back and think of England."

"Say _what_?!"

"Ready to go?" Shadow pulled at the leash with one hand, the other holding the bag with blade and protective gear, and looked at Sonic with that rare mischievous spark in his eyes again. Sonic shot him the fiercest emerald glare he was capable of.

"I hope they pierce your non-existant _heart_."

xxx

They walked in silence through the castle, Sonic well aware that he wasn't allowed to speak as a slave, even if he resented it. Nevertheless, his expression communicated well enough what he thought of Shadow at the moment. In short, the rational part of Sonic's brain summed up, their relationship in terms of pranks and humour at the other's expense seemed to have changed exactly zero percent. _But_, he couldn't help but think with a slightly insulted edge to it, _doesn't he care about what they might try to do to me even a *little* bit? _He shot a sideways glance at Shadow, knowing that technically, even that would not be permissible for a pet like him, which angered him even more even if he paid the rule little heed. The black hedgehog, however, walked on impassively as always, seemingly not even bothered by the situation Sonic was about to get shoved into. But he had sounded so sincere when he had told Sonic about his feelings yesterday night…how could he be so callous again now? Was that just Shadow? Sonic gave a frustrated sigh as they were, according to Greytail, almost at their destination and he still didn't feel in the least prepared for what would await him.

"Here we are, my Prince. Please hand your slave over to the doorman," the cat servant said, indicating a frog standing at the side of a somewhat tall double door they were about to head past. Shadow nodded. "Yes. Just let me inspect him one last time."

Sonic raised an eyebrow as his supposed owner then turned his back toward the feline and faced him, not sure what this whole charade was supposed to be about as Shadow indeed seemed to brush his shoulders off a little and made a show of inspecting his ears, tugging at one of them to make Sonic lower his head.

"_Hey! Cut it out_!" Sonic hissed, not pleased with the treatment. Shadow merely went on to pretend to be smoothing his head fur, but the blue ears twitched as the fake Prince then actually replied in a whisper of his own.

"Quiet. We don't have much time," he murmured, still keeping Sonic's head down to quietly speak into his ear without effort as he now carefully groomed the small quills in the back of the blue-furred neck, again letting his unwilling slave shiver at the touch. "What I said about the lessons," he began.

"Yeah?" Sonic asked back slightly sourly under his breath, trying to focus despite the enjoyable dance those hands were currently doing in his fur. "What about them?"

"Don't let them do anything to you that you don't want them to."

"Yeah, fat chance of that happening," Sonic replied acerbically. "So far, everyone in this warped castle has been doing nothing _but_ that."

"No. I mean it." Shadow now grasped lightly his chin, turning his head to the side so Sonic could look up into his eyes. The black hedgehog brushed an imaginary dust mote off his cheek. "You get into trouble, you run. You fight them and you run. Find me in the courtyard and we leave."

"But…the dinner," Sonic pointed out, almost hypnotized by the sudden intensity in Shadow's crimson gaze as well as the uncharacteristic advice while a hand of Shadow's was now smoothing over his belly fur. Usually it was the black hedgehog who had been so gung-ho about staying in their roles that he'd even found it necessary to discipline Sonic previously – even if it had been only in a very mild manner.

Shadow shook his head almost imperceptibly. "We could get the Emerald another way, if we had to. You don't have to let yourself get…_trained_, if they ask for too much." The black hedgehog took a small breath before he spoke next.

"The dinner doesn't matter to me if they hurt you beforehand."

Sonic swallowed, not only because of what exactly Shadow had implied with 'trained', but also because of the sheer force of emotion the Ultimate Lifeform's words had suddenly contained. He couldn't remember Shadow having shown this much attachment when talking to or about anyone except Maria.

"Shadow…" Sonic managed, perhaps a bit too loudly, for Greytail suddenly turned around.

"What? Has he just dared to call you by name, my Prince?" he asked, his whiskers twitching as the servant appeared scandalized.

"Hm?" Shadow gave him a glance over his shoulder, at once all business again, his features under flawless control. "No, you must have misheard. He might have uttered a sound in pain since he is still recuperating from last night, though," the stand-in royal smirked, at the same time pulling Sonic's head up by his ear again so the blue hedgehog was forced to stand up straight. "Isn't that so, slave?" Shadow asked coldly, adding quickly and much more quietly, "Will you be okay?"

Sonic almost couldn't suppress a smile now that the warm fuzzies had once again taken hold of his stomach and were apparently planning to take up permanent residence there. At this moment he found it almost amusing to bow his head slightly and reply as meekly as possible with a "Yes, Master," that brought Shadow very close to an actual snort. Emerald eyes gave a quick wink.

"I'll be fine, Shads. And after all, I wouldn't miss our first dinner date for the world." Another lightning quick grin that was too fast for anyone but Shadow to see and then the black hedgehog had already stepped back and was now about to hand the leash over to the green frog doorman, who took it without interest or even looking at Sonic.

Greytail nodded. "Very well. If you'd care to follow me now to the fencing lesson, my Prince…" he gestured at the hallway with a hand and a slight bow, as polite and servile as ever. Shadow made a sign for the cat to lead the way and the pair began moving down the corridor, away from Sonic now held by the green and orange-spotted amphibian. They shared only one short last glance before the supposed Prince turned the next corner and then vanished from sight, but to Sonic, for whom so much could happen in just a single second, it was as if that single look had communicated their newly shared trust perfectly:

Concern, yes. Worry, no.

Shadow knew Sonic was competent enough to handle himself, but never would let that become a reason not to care. Sonic knew that whatever he had to do, Shadow wouldn't object, but help him do it. Neither Greytail nor the doorman particularly cared to look, but if they had, they would definitely have seen the faintest of smiles from the hedgehogs they led away...

_To be continued..._

**_Next Up! _Chapter 32: Training Day**

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Gah! Okay, this to_o_k way longer than expected, sorry! :P Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, tho, seems like there's a couple of new obstacles before romance can resume, but hey, it wouldn't be this fic without them, right? XD Meanwhile, we do have awesome new FANART to admire, and there's quite a few pieces this time, which I'd like to give a spotlight each individually, to give the artists the attention they deserve. So, today's Masterpiece is from Ryuko Vulpix again, titled 'No Mercy' and is from chapter 31. Check it out, it is brilliant. Link on my profile :D The other works to follow shortly, of course, we do have another wonderful artist to introduce. ;)

As for your concerns about the pace of the story, please know that I read and consider all reviews and it has been known to make me re-edit chapters at times. So, I hope you liked this one (better) and whether you did or didn't, all reviews appreciated. :)


	33. Training Day

**Chapter 32****: Training Day**

The frog opened the left half of the double door and Sonic, left with little choice, followed him inside the hall behind it. It wasn't as big as the throne room, but still quite impressive, measuring perhaps twenty metres of width and thirty in length. There were carpets and furs of animals (_feral_ ones, Sonic hoped very fervently) hung on one side of the hall, and shields and weapons mounted on the part of Sonic that was responsible for the blue hedgehog surviving the madness he called 'life' so far immediately unconsciously noted the positions of the various blades and staves, evaluating them for potential use in combat.

Apart from the walls, though, the room was sparsely decorated. It had a sand-stone coloured floor, hewn from rough stone but worn smooth by years of use and thousands of furry feet (_or scaly ones_, the hedgehog reminded himself with a light scowl) shuffling across it. It had a sort of raised part of floor at one end with three steps leading up to it and otherwise there was a square indent sent into the stone in such a way that it created a sort of walkway along the walls while the main part of the floor was just an inch lower.

The only apparent furniture was a lone chest of drawers close to another, smaller door at the opposite corner of the hall that might have led into a storage room, and a couple of lengthy banquet tables (which sadly didn't hold any food, a certain disappointed stomach and high-speed metabolism noted). They were completed with a few rickety stools which stood just like the tables in apparent disarray; perhaps the hall had once been used for feasts, but now it looked more like an abandoned part of the castle that was the handy room for everything which wasn't important, but had to be done. Sonic noted with relief the absence of any obvious torture devices or similar which had freaked him out in the dungeon. Now a sudden touch at his choker let him snap back to attention as he noted the frog suddenly fumbling with his leash in an attempt to get it off the collar. Once again, a wave of annoyance flooded through the collared hero at the sensation of being touched by anyone but Shadow, but he held still until the thing had come undone.

"Until the trainer arrives, you're supposed to sit there, with the others," the frog said in a bored tone, rolling up the leather lead without hurry and nodding toward the left corner of the room. Sonic's head turned and only now he noted the two figures previously concealed from his view by the body of the doorman. Not sure whether he was supposed to reply verbally, he only gave a quick nod, before walking over to the kneeling Mobians, increasingly curious as to his new classmates.

The first thing he noticed was that they were either red, or red-and-black collared slaves like him, increasing his unease regarding the possible contents of the lessons just a bit. It ruffled his quills a little as he became aware that he, too, had started to regard the collar as the most prominent thing about a person and in his mind quickly went to rectify that. He took his own sweet time approaching them, especially since the frog had left the room again and for the moment there were no others to bully them around that he had to pretend to be terrified of. The one sitting closest to the door was a hedgehog like himself, although Sonic would have guessed he was maybe one or two years younger, and his fur was a vibrant green. The quills of him were thinner than Sonic's own, but just as long, sticking up wildly in all directions. He was a personal slave as well, red stitching on his black collar indicating that somebody wanted to have fun in private. The green teen was wearing simple sandals, wristbands covered in spikes and a red vest, which seemed to be a small mercy that his Master had granted him. Apart from that, his gaze was glued meekly to the ground, not even looking up when Sonic came closer. Next to him a honey-coloured cat girl crouched on the floor, and the hero of Mobius had the instinctive reaction to avert his gaze, mostly because she wasn't very…dressed.

Somebody had given her a tight, red skirt (that most people would probably have thought qualified rather as a _belt_), but nobody had apparently imagined any further garments were needed, her upper body on display for all to see. Sonic knew not all females were of the opinion that they absolutely had to wear clothes, but mostly they did, not only because it looked pretty, but also because a female's fur was generally thinner and along with their differing muscle/body fat ratio it meant that they got cold a lot more easily. The blue speedster had heard it was the same with humans, actually, but why even their _males_ in that case would insist on clothes and the females instead were shaving off what little fur they had, remained a mystery to him. (But then again, _everyone_ knew that humans were essentially mad, anyway.)

He turned a cautious glance toward the feline girl again, telling himself he wasn't disrespectful because he saw her as a person (instead of, say, a slim, very pretty female of his age) and thought that in the chilly air of the castle she was surely feeling cold sitting still like that, all of her thin pelt raised. But there was no evidence in her demeanour of that. Even though her face could have been called beautiful with its playful white tufts of fur at the tips of her ears and the satin black hair framing it, her dark eyes only held a vacant expression as they stared straight ahead, as if any life they once held had already been extinguished long ago. Her collar was red.

Sonic's fists clenched.

Still, uncharacteristically for him, he grudgingly accepted he had to bide his time instead of jumping into action right this minute. Roaring into the face of the slave trainer how he deserved to have his tail torn off because of what they had to have done to this girl surely wouldn't help in the long run. Instead, he just had to make it through this day until they finally had their chance at the dinner…

Sonic reached the kneeling pair and, hesitating briefly, at last sunk down next to them. He was still ignored, so, in order not to go insane from sheer boredom, he knew he had to open the conversation himself.

"Hello."

Silence.

"I'm Sonic."

Silence.

"You're going to open your maws now or are you here for the mime slave seminar?" the older hedgehog finally asked sarcastically, not for the first time wondering why most of the people he was trying to help always were _so_ uncooperative. At least by now the green hedgehog seemed to have trouble pretending not to hear him, though, so Sonic knew he was on the right track. He leaned slightly forward on one hand and studied his neighbour somewhat more closely. The stitching on the collar caught his eye as he recognized it wasn't mere symbols, but actually roman letters…

"_Manic_," Sonic read aloud. "That your name, your owner's name, or a warning they shouldn't give ya sharp objects to hold?"

At last, this produced a reaction. The younger hedgehog's head turned around slowly to meet Sonic's gaze with his own surprised brown eyes.

"You can _read_?"

"What?" Sonic replied, somewhat taken aback. "Yeah, 'course I can, I learned a lot of stuff at school before I turned twelve-" he answered automatically, before the horrible truth hit home and made him shut up, namely, that they hadn't even bothered to teach the other hedgehog at least basic literacy skills.

_Then again, this is like the middle ages, _he reminded himself. _By their standards, I probably qualify as an intellectual - and Shadow as the Witch King._

"Uhm, I mean, yeah. I can read. It's…handy," he replied instead, somewhat lost for words. The other hedgehog cocked his head, licking his lips nervously.

"Doesn't your Master mind?"

"Shads? Nah, I don't think he cares, honest-oh _Chaos_, will you stop staring like that?" the blue speedster groaned as the green hedgehog suddenly looked as terrified as if Sonic had started putting ketchup on small babies. "Yes, I call my owner by name. No, the apocalypse is not gonna start because of that. Okay?" he asked, trying to sound not quite as annoyed as he felt. It wasn't like any of this was the fault of the other slave, after all. "So, your name," Sonic started again instead. "Is it Manic?"

The other nodded.

"Okay, cool. Manic. I like it," the blue speedster replied with a smile and couldn't help but feel a small surge of triumph as the other's eyes briefly seemed to light up. "You live in the castle?" he enquired further, already wondering whether they couldn't do another rescue mission before their main plan was put into action…

"Only at the moment. My Master has come to Court for the dinner," the hedgehog called Manic said, Sonic raising one eye ridge a little as he started to wonder just how big an occasion the evening could possibly be if guests were coming from afar.

"You got, er, a nice owner?" he asked the younger one next, feeling slightly weird for accepting the premise so easily in his line of questions. Manic immediately dropped his gaze, now looking as timid as he had before.

"He…sometimes he's nice. When I do things right," he added quietly, biting his lower lip in a way much too similar to Tails for Sonic's taste and he immediately felt the pity and righteous fury welling up inside him again.

"Listen," he spoke, now more serious than his previous light-hearted tone, "You know that he shouldn't do bad things to you, right? No Master should mistreat their slaves."

"What?" Now the green hedgehog turned from shy to confused.

"There's a war brewing, you know that, right?" Sonic continued quickly, "Maybe none of us have to be slaves any longer after that," he explained, wishing for his enthusiasm to infect the other just a little. They had to _understand_ the idea of freedom…

"But…my Master is all I have. I don't want to be away from him. And I'm going to become an even better pet for him, that's why he sent me here!" he exclaimed, causing Sonic to be a bit taken aback.

"What? You _like _the guy who put that collar on you?" he asked, ignoring the little voice in his head adding a _Well, so do you, smart guy. _

"He cares for me. He owns me. And I won't ever leave his side," Manic stated, swallowing. "And if he punishes me, I deserve it…"

Sonic gave a quiet groan. If he had to take a bet, he'd chance that this Sapient, like Tails, had probably been owned by somebody all his life so far. There was little chance he could reverse a complete brainwash in one afternoon, especially if he was bound to act like a real slave himself this time around. The collared hero sighed. They had to win this war, that was the only option. Until then, he could only hope that whoever was this guy's owner treated the green hedgehog well…

"Well, no, actually you don't," Sonic said again, simply unable to not contradict the other's opinion, but then deciding to change the topic anyway. "So, err…you wouldn't happen to know what they wanna teach us in these lessons, would ya?"

The other blinked, taken aback. He shot a slightly worried glance at both of the closed doors, biting his lip as if afraid someone might come through them at any moment and beat them for their disobedience.

"Well…" he replied, hesitant, "I believe it is mostly about attitude. Like, the proper way to move and to think to please our Masters. And maybe other things we can do for them to make them happy."

Sonic briefly wondered whether the training would contain a lesson on how to correctly serve the GUN commander's severed head on a silver platter, but thought that this wasn't very likely. (And besides, even if Shadow still harboured an intense dislike against the man who had tried to hunt him down during the events of the Black Arms invading the planet, and Sonic himself wasn't too fond of the human military who got in the way more often than not, the blue hedgehog knew himself he wouldn't resort to murder in any case. Yet how he was to stick to that principle while in a war, he still didn't know…)

"I've been trained by others before," Manic continued at this point, perhaps unaware that a glassy-eyed Sonic was once more demonstrating his very un-slave-like attention span of just under a second right now, "Some of them were very…strict," he said and then abruptly fell silent. The sudden absence of talking let Sonic snap back from the imagined battles inside his head to the present and he quickly had to review what Manic had actually said. Tentatively, he laid a hand onto the other's shoulder.

"Hey. Don't worry, you'll be fine. You'll do everything right. And tell you what, if you do screw up, I'll do something even worse and take the rap for ya, how's that sound?" he asked with a wink, smiling at the other's surprised expression. The role of protector came to him naturally, and, he figured, he seemed to be heading for a disaster anyway. If this guy, _who is practically a pillow on legs_, Sonic thought, figured their trainer was going to punish him for being too non-submissive, then Sonic would be lucky to get out of there with all his limbs still attached. But then again, what was the worst they could do to him? Whip lashes or beatings with a stick perhaps, and Sonic had been in much worse pain, so the blue speedster in the end wasn't overly worried. He gave the other a re-assuring thumbs-up.

"It's cool. Look at me, my owner only managed to break me a day ago or so," he lied. "The other day I kicked a noble. That guy totally deserved it, by the way. Bit Shadow, too, come to think of it, and stole stuff from the kitchen. Also, I shed on furniture," Sonic joked, poking his tongue out at the last comment and was delighted to see the incredulous expression of the green hedgehog then give the slightly curious twitching of the lips that Sonic had come to associate with people just getting used to his special brand of humour.

"I…I see…" Manic stammered, still staring at the strange blue-furred slave in front of him, giving him such a bright grin he'd only ever seen free people wear. "Thank you, I guess…" he seemed to try to recover. "Maybe – maybe the trainer isn't such a strict one, though. Do you actually know anything about him? Is he…rough…on slaves?"

Sonic was about to shrug. He had no idea what the guy even looked like (and also had the faintest suspicion his and Manic's definitions of what being 'rough' on people meant, differed…) and knew even less about his supposed character. But, before he could reply, the smaller of the two doors opened and somebody stepped through. As the other two slaves rapidly straightened up and looked down again, Sonic's throat suddenly went very dry.

"No," he croaked in a whisper to Manic in reply. "No, he isn't usually very rough on people. Not unless he thinks you're the one responsible for turning his home world into the biggest barbecue in history."

Turning once again to the new arrival he added:

"Hiya, Silver…"

xxx

Shadow briefly wondered why the sinking feeling in his stomach had just gotten so much worse.

"How long is the lesson supposed to last today?" he asked Greytail walking ahead of him, carrying the protective gear, gloves and rapier. "With the dinner still coming up, I mean. I will need time to get ready," the black hedgehog added, not wanting to give the impression that the Prince's spreading memory loss by now extended to his everyday habits.

The cat servant briefly turned to look over his shoulder where they were about to descend the marble staircase leading to the ground level. "Not too long, my Prince, I don't think. After your recent sickness it is generally agreed that no overexertion should be risked again."

The artificial hedgehog breathed an unnoticed sigh of relief. Black Doom obviously was a much worse genetic engineer than Gerald had been, since Shadow had never been sick a day in his life. However, it certainly came in handy that he wasn't supposed to be all that fit yet, because it meant he had an excuse if he wanted to terminate the lesson early.

"Very well. It does seem like I had my last lesson a lifetime ago," he said, planning to work on the pretext even now and set up likely explanations for why he probably wouldn't be all that great when it came to the actual fencing. Shadow was as dangerous as anyone with a blade, but they were by no means his preferred weapons. Much like Sonic, who liked to attack with razor sharp quills, powerful kicks and demonic speed, Shadow's fighting style of Chaos abilities mixed with hand-to-hand combat supported by artificially created muscles was based upon his own natural talents – the black hedgehog had a personal penchant for certain guns and rifles, liking the range it added to his attacks, but he had never had much to do with sword fighting at all. The only scenario when he had used one that sprang to mind had been over half a year ago when the Black Arms had been invading the planet and Shadow had suddenly found himself wielding a giant glowy purple sword, but even then he had merely used it to pin Black Doom's eye to a wall somewhere when the thing had gotten too annoying at some point. (Back then, he had also tried the same trick later with a certain incessantly talking blue hedgehog and a samurai blade, but fortunately Sonic had proved just a tad bit too fast for that).

"Yes," Greytail replied at this point, inclining his head in understanding. "It certainly has been a while since we had the honour to see you fence, my Prince."

Shadow calmed himself a little. That was good. It meant he could always claim he was a bit rusty and wouldn't run the risk of blowing their pretence in the process.

"But fortunately, your twelve years of expertise will certainly have survived that little lapse, won' t they? Hahahah," the grey-furred cat continued, adding a polite laugh at the end.

"Haha," Shadow replied, only privately wondering whether in the end it wouldn't be Sonic but _him_ rushing through the castle to find the other with a bunch of angry guardsmen shouting 'IMPOSTOR!' at his heels…

xxx

The silver-furred slave trainer's head whipped around immediately into their direction at Sonic's words. Damn future hedgehog hearing. Sonic could barely resist the temptation to bite down on his tongue for being stupid enough to attract the trainer's attention this early in the lesson.

"Did one of you just say something?" the silver hedgehog asked, slowly approaching the kneeling slaves, all of their collared necks bent and staring fiercely at the floor. As for the hero of Mobius, he knew that even this was futile. While the other slaves here were projecting the general aura of being a footstool, Sonic's natural way of carrying himself could rather be compared to a giant, blinking exclamation mark above his head. It was pretty cool at parties, to have every head turn around when you entered the room, but even in primary school it had _never_ been a good thing when you were always the first kid to draw the teacher's gaze.

"I think it was…"

The shiny light-grey legs stepped toward them and Sonic could see his boots come into view. Of course, they weren't the sleek, sci-fi-like versions he'd seen him wearing last time, but they still looked like a pretty good medieval replica. They were made from fine, polished black, white and blue leather, had a red jewel embedded in the front and were topped off with a golden band at the top, a couple of strange runes scratched into them. Sonic didn't know whether this edition of the silver hedgehog had the same psycho telepathic powers, but he hoped he didn't. Once he'd stopped trying to kill him, the Mobius edition of the silver hedgehog had turned out to be quite friendly and not that overly powerful, but there was still something about a café chair soaring straight toward your face that you never really got over.

_Maybe making jokes about his mother's relationship with a cockatoo wouldn't be such a great idea this time around_, Sonic thought. His characteristic curiosity finally got the better of him as he couldn't help but glance up just slightly, hoping to get another look at the other Sapient and maybe check out what had happened to his funky gloves. He raised his head just a little, his gaze wandering upwards to see what it was the silver hedgehog might be doing…

And emerald eyes stared straight into amber as Sonic recognized with a little flip of the stomach that the other had been gazing directly down at him.

"…you," the trainer finished his sentence, calmly. "I think it was you."

Sonic blinked, not sure what to (or whether to) reply. A part of him noted that yes, even the gloves had been replaced by medieval-looking ones with gold bands that had runes etched into them and strange lines painted onto the white fabric that covered his hands. _Another _part noted that, more importantly, he was also already in trouble. Sonic tried very hard not to sigh.

"Don't you know you're not supposed to call anyone by name, at all? Reply."

Sonic's mind cast about for an answer. He yearned to get up and talk to the other face to face instead of having to crane his head like this, but that was nothing likely to help him.

"Err...my…Master…said it was okay?" he tried, sounding vaguely hopeful. The silver hedgehog gave him a long stare. "Stand up," he said and when Sonic gladly complied, took a step forward with a raised arm and lightly touched the blue hedgehog's expensive collar and nametag, the supposed slave doing his best to suppress the fight-or-flight reflex he had developed in reaction to Silver making _any_ sudden hand movements anywhere near him. The gloved hand of the other turned the metal tag around.

"Sonic", he read in turn. Then he raised an eye ridge. "You're the property of the Crown Prince, aren't you?" he said, somehow making this seem less like a question and more like a diagnosis.

_I prefer the term __'associate', myself, _Sonic would have liked to reply, but instead opted for an incline of the head. He had long since found out that he was just a couple of inches taller than the other, younger hedgehog (talking head height, anyway, and not taking the other's pineapple-shaped excuse for a hairstyle into account) and Sonic enjoyed underlining that fact by standing up even straighter afterwards.

"Yes. I thought so," the trainer said, now for some reason giving the impression of a schoolteacher who had just found out Bill Watterson's Calvin was in his class. "Down," he commanded again and when Sonic obeyed, added: "Your Master has scheduled a private lesson for you after this one. I look forward to it."

Sonic swallowed and idly wondered what Shadow might say if he saw his supposed slave come running before the Ultimate Lifeform had even reached the courtyard.

xxx

"Now, first up," the metallic-hued hedgehog stepped back a little, facing his trainees. "My name is Silver the Hedgehog. During this lesson, you can address me as 'Master'. Since your owners paid for you to be here, I will assume all of you are already advanced in your training and will give me no trouble. I expect instant and complete obedience from all of you."

_Easier said than done,_ thought Sonic, whose legs were already tingling and itching to move again. This Japanese kind of eternal kneeling did not suit him well at all.

"First of all, I will teach you how to walk. You are part of your Master's presentation and you will need to be able to move with grace and appropriate demeanour to cast him or her in the best possible light. You will go first," he added to Sonic, letting the collared hero's stomach briefly clench, "Stand up and go over there," Silver said, pointing to the middle of the left wall where one of the bigger shields hung. "Now, walk forward until I tell you to stop. Imagine you are on your Master's leash and he is striding in front of you. There are people watching. Go," he commanded and Sonic reluctantly started to move. It didn't sit well with him that Silver had just assigned him the job of what was essentially a handbag, but if the younger hedgehog thought there was anything about moving on two feet you needed to teach Sonic the Hedgehog, he was sorely mistaken…

_If they'd at least give us treats for completing the tasks, _the collared hero thought dryly as he walked, was ordered to turn around, and walked back again. He hadn't had anything to eat since lunch yesterday, a few particular events of last night having _distracted_ him enough to forget about dinner or breakfast and now his stomach was telling him exactly what it thought about its owner suddenly caring more for certain _other_ body parts.

"Come back. You there, next," Silver instructed, letting Manic rise and gesturing for Sonic to sit down again. The blue hedgehog did so, relieved that it didn't seem so bad yet, even if his tummy was grumbling slightly. But then again, while most people believed that the hero of Mobius was living the spoiled life of a celebrity, Sonic was actually used to roughing it – his adventures often meant he was sleeping without a roof over his head, shivering in rain or snow, or going hungry, unwashed or_ sometimes collared and whipped, _the blue speedster added sarcastically in his own head. But still, it meant that a mere 24 hours without nutrition were currently the least of his worries. He watched with a curious mixture of wariness and boredom how Silver made the other two slaves go through the same exercise, again without saying anything. Manic walked timidly and insecurely, fidgeting with his hands while his gaze was glued to the floor and almost stumbled due to nervousness more than once. The girl walked more like a robot, or a marionette with tangled strings and broken limbs, her movements without energy or spirit, midnight hair hanging over her face like a neglected doll's. Sonic himself had just walked normally, not particularly feeling like putting up a show; the collared hero privately thinking that him participating in this game of musical chairs at all was more than you could ask of anybody who hadn't yet lost their mind.

Silver gave no sign what he'd thought of their respective shows, but instead just ordered them all to stand as soon as the cat girl had finished. He waved Sonic forward.

"Good. Now walk again," he said, but before the blue hedgehog could even take his first step, suddenly there was a light tapping on the tip of his ear. Sonic looked over his shoulder in surprise and could see Silver now holding a short, polished wooden stick, its end engraved with thin circular lines which he'd just used to give him a non-painful rap on his earlap.

"Down," he ordered, and, when Sonic failed to do anything, tapped the blue-furred appendage again. "Your ears. Flatten them," the younger hedgehog clarified, once more prodding the triangular ear which was already starting to twitch and trying to escape the unwanted treatment. Sonic briefly met Silver's gaze a bit incredulously, but then actually tried to do what was wanted of him – not easy, since the blue hero's body was used to be on constant alert, attacks an almost daily appearance, but if he concentrated, he could keep his ears lowered, even if he didn't like what it signified. Hoping that was it, Sonic started to walk once again, but couldn't even take another single step, before the stick came down again, this time on his shoulders.

"Lower these, too. You've got fine muscles, but don't show them off."

Sonic blinked briefly, not entirely too sure whether he should take it as a compliment or his cue to jump out of the window. He tried to continue and to get this over with, but it soon turned out that this was futile – Silver seemed to find fun in poking his stick with hedgehog-like precision in between his quills, forcing him to flatten these too, tapped him on the nose when Sonic wasn't looking at the floor, ran the damned thing over his thighs to indicate Sonic should keep them closer together, and finally the blue speedster almost squeaked when the next thing he felt was the instrument brushing straight over his tail.

"You'll have to keep that one between your legs," Silver stated with a frown, gently tapping on the blue appendage, completely ignoring the sudden discomfort of his charge, who was looking over his shoulder with a bit of mortification.

"Uh…" the blue hedgehog began, but was interrupted when the trainer's face suddenly lit up.

"Or actually," Silver said, "it would look much better if you curved it _up_wards, like this," he finished, and the next thing Sonic knew was his tail being yanked straight up.

"_Ah!" _the hero of Mobius yelped at the sudden rough treatment, but couldn't very well escape while the other still had a firm grip on him. Sonic could already feel heat shooting into his cheeks and for a moment was rather glad that Shadow wasn't here to see this after all...

"Can you keep it like this?" Silver asked and slowly let go, the blue appendage almost staying in position and the trainer nodded in approval.

"Very well. It does highlight your rear quite nicely, just as I thought. Onwards," he commanded cheerfully, and just when Sonic thought this couldn't possibly get any worse, Silver decided to show some encouragement and the stick landed on his now nicely highlighted rear with a very satisfying smacking sound.

_If I survive this, Chaos, I solemnly swear I will support any anti-sexual harassment movement that I find on Mobius. Also, if I ever see Shadow after this, I will ask him whether I can make use of his fencing blade to show him *exactly* what we did in these lessons... _

To be continued…

* * *

Wow, has it really been a month? I do apologize. However, at least you get a decently-sized chapter for your waiting, Sonic torture included. :P Today's FANART is by Namu97, and a appropriately scary depiction of poor Sonic's first nightmare in chapter 14. Link on my profile, please check it out! :) As always, feel free to draw your own to get featured XD

Second announcement for today: There's a new sonadow story in the works! It's a collaboration with the wonderful writer Skyblaze (whose fantastic works like 'Hold On' and 'Beyond Prophecy' most of you will be reading anyway...) and we have already posted the first chapter. It's called 'Advent of Equinox', focusing on Sonic becoming the Werehog again, but Shadow facing a transformation of his own...;) There's a friendship/adventure version available on my alternate account on here, but for all of you who want to read the slashy one, we do have it up on Skyblaze's account on another site, link on my profile as well. Meanwhile, hope you all enjoyed the chappie here, and if you read, please review! :D (And no worries, I do know how much you hate it to see those two lovebirds apart; they'll be together again soon, but is it because the lessons are over or because something else has happened...?:P)


	34. Zis Is Sparta!

**Chapter 34: Zis is Sparta!  
**

Maybe it had been that time when Shadow had framed him and he had been stuck in one of GUN's cells for a whole day, before Amy of all people had had to save him – after trying to coerce him into marriage, of course. But yeah, no. That had actually been okay.

The time when he had tripped over his own shoelaces and crashed into a cactus facefirst while trying to show off in front of a horde of girls when he was twelve? Close, but no.

Or maybe that time when Robotnik had had him strapped to a laboratory table and _Rouge _had been the one to find him – and make about a dozen inappropriate jokes afterwards about what the scientist had wanted from him. No, not quite.

_Or maybe, just *maybe* it's right _now_, when a former ally of mine is trying to teach me how to crawl 'seductively', _Sonic thought acerbically, the hero of Mobius quite sure he had just about reached the most embarrassing moment of his entire life so far.

"Arch your back more. Move your hips," Silver instructed cheerfully and Sonic was hard-pressed not to move his _feet_ – either to the exit or into his trainer's face, that was.

"Look, can't I…"

"Ah. No talking,"

Sonic gnashed his teeth, directing a scorching glare at the wood beneath his hands. Silver had had him and Manic re-arrange the banquet tables into a sort of improvised cat-walk and now he was being forced to stalk across it on all fours – a sure sign for Sonic that he had somehow missed to last exit on the insanity highway to Oz, and Silver was going to turn out to be a wizard any moment now.

"You don't seem to be initiated in the rules of slave-speak much, are you? You should know you're not supposed to refer to yourself as 'I' – after all, you're your Master's property and therefore should designate yourself as 'this slave' or similar," Silver admonished, fortunately unaware of Sonic's nails digging ever so slightly into the table at this point.

_Hoo boy. _The collared hero rolled his eyes, privately thinking that if he ever got out of here, 'this slave' would like to tell Shadow _exactly _what he thought of these lessons.

"Now, move. Like this," Silver said – and Sonic's eyes grew wide when suddenly, those gloved hands of his had found their way to his hips and were moving in time to the motions of his legs. The blue hedgehog didn't need a mirror to know he had just lit up like a fireworks display.

_Oh, gods…_he hung his head briefly in embarrassment, which was, of course, what earned him the second smack of today.

"Look up! Show your pretty face to the world!"

_I need a door. And an axe. And then I will break through that door, shove my face through the gap and go 'Heeeeere's Sonic!'_

xxx

"Here you are, my Prince. Please get ready, the instructor will be here in a moment," Greytail instructed, carefully laying Shadow's blade onto the floor, before proceeding to hold up a sort of leather vest that probably qualified as protective clothing for Shadow to slip into. The supposed Prince reluctantly complied, the tough material smooth against his fur but still thick and stiff enough to probably block weak to minor slices and stabs. Shadow noted with faint amusement that it even had two holes in the back for his quills to slip through, although it felt a bit odd to wear a garment that hugged your form like it had been tailored just for you, yet belonged really to someone else. Greytail fastened a few clasps on the thing and then stepped back to hand Shadow his blade – the black hedgehog taking the weapon a bit self-consciously, not entirely too sure whether he liked the feel of it yet. How good was he even supposed to be with this thing? He made a few tentative slices at the air, briefly musing that he might prefer a heavier weapon (or perhaps a rubber chicken that could vacuum...).

"Well, where is my instructor?" Shadow asked with a frown, feeling that offence might be the best tactic and rubber chickens not the issue here. Plus, he wanted to get this over with fast as possible.

"He will be here any minute, my Pri – ah, here he is," Greytail announced, seemingly relieved. Shadow's head turned into the direction of the cat's gesture and then, a black eye ridge rose ever so slightly.

The fencing teacher was another Mobian – no surprise there – but of a species Shadow hadn't yet set eyes on. It looked a bit like a cross between a weasel, a desert dog and a wig store, all bundled up in a fine navy blue uniform with shining buttons and golden epaulettes. The…_male_, Shadow supposed, even if only for the fact that despite the perfume cloud wafting from him, the canine had foregone any clothing below the waist – had cinnamon-coloured fur with lighter patches of cream around the muzzle and his eyes while also sporting a short, brushy tail. His entire appearance was as groomed and immaculate as Sonic and Shadow's own had been four days ago; an almost impossible feat considering the circumstances of the everyday life here, but somehow, the guy had managed it. He was also one of the few male Sapients Shadow had yet encountered who had actual human-like hair growing from his head, most others just making do with tufts of fur. The Ultimate Lifeform for a moment wasn't sure whether the lethal-looking long blade hanging from his belt, or the apparent short blonde perm should worry him more.

"_Mon Prince! General Antoine D'Coolette à votre service!_" the instructor called out at this very moment and proceeded to salute with a flourish. Shadow had a sudden sinking feeling that could only be compared in its magnitude to that the Titanic had to have experienced.

Where had that guy even *got* a perm in the middle ages?

xxx

"Good. You can stop now."

_Oh, thank the *gods*._

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief as he sat back on his knees, grateful that he could finally cease with the absurd cat walk show. He shot a half-curious glance at Silver, the metallic-hued hedgehog regarding him with his head slightly tilted.

"Hmm…that didn't look half-bad…"

Sonic raised an eye-ridge. He had crawled like he usually would – which would have been either while escaping through the ventilation duct systems in some fortress or other (no, they never seemed to learn), spying high from the rafters above a robot factory of Eggman's, or simply hiding behind wreckage on a battlefield, all of them situations where a single noise could mean discovery, and a foot wrong could mean death. He hadn't exactly learned how to crawl _decoratively_.

"A little bit…predatory, perhaps, but I think it suits you…" Silver continued, approaching Sonic and pretending to ignore the narrowing of the collared hero's eyes as he ran another hand along his flank. "Your movements are beautiful."

Emerald eyes blinked.

No one had ever called him 'beautiful' before…

xxx

"_Le salut, mon Prince_? I am in waiting."

"What?" Shadow blinked. He was facing Antoine now on a cleared area in the courtyard, the smells of earth, horses, leather, and people unable to properly dispose of their ablutions in his nose, and he, frankly, had no idea what to do.

"_Le salut_. Do not tell me you 'ave forgotten." The other now looked mildly annoyed, his lithe blade in his hand by his side twitching as if in disapproval. Shadow gripped the hilt of his own weapon tighter.

"Well…"

So far, things had been working out all right. They had gone through a series of warm-ups and stretches and Antoine had worked him pretty hard – or probably at least thought he did. The fact that Shadow's artificially engineered muscles required neither previous stretching (unless he was going up against a seriously fast opponent), or that Gerald had created them to be easily twice as strong as a normal Sapient's, of course had meant that the black hedgehog's performance had at least elicited a few raised eye ridges from his teacher. But then again, _anyone_ who had spent some time brawling with Sonic the Spineless Wonder would have picked up a bit of agility...

"Mon Prince, vot am I going to do wiz you?"

_Ask me 'ow to speak ze language proper, per'aps? _Shadow thought a tad acidly, not at all appreciating the cluelessness this situation put him in. Hell, at this point he was actually a bit envious of Sonic. At least _he _would be ordered about like an idiot.

_Examine that last sentence and wonder how that wish reflects on your personal life. _

"Fine, zen. I will show you it once more. Your mind, mon prince, is like a, 'ow do you say it, 'ollander," Antoine stated down his furry nose, leaving Shadow to flat-glare at him for now apparently being designated a dutchman.

"Très bien. Regardez." The instructor then drew his feet together, at the same time bringing the hilt of his drawn blade up to his chest, raising it for a brief moment toward the sky, before lowering it again, all with the utmost sincerity. Shadow briefly tensed as the other then actually pointed it toward him, but didn't react yet - the right choice, it seemed, for Antoine next only brushed his lips against the crosspiece, gave a final flourish and then dropped into a ready stance, legs bent and spread apart, left arm raised behind him to align itself with the sword.

"En guarde, mon prince. Zis is ze salut of ze school of_ ze raging heart!_"

_Yeah. More like the school of raging insanity. _

"Well_?_" Antoince asked, thankfully not being able to read his unwilling student's mind. "Repeat, s'il vous plaît."

Shadow sighed deeply, but had no choice but to obey. Well, at least he could do the salute properly...

Gloved hands grasped his weapon. There was a _zing_ as the rapier left its sheath, the edge of the blade gleaming in the sunlight briefly as Shadow raised it toward the sky, then brought it down to his heart and saluted his teacher as best as he could. Before he twirled the blade, his lips briefly caressed the hilt just like the other one had; the black hedgehog only hoping that _he_ was the only one who would be forced to kiss today...

xxx

"Alright! Sonic, you can get down. Manic and Honey, come here," Silver called, waving the other two Sapients forward. The hero of Mobius swung his legs over the edge of the table he'd been paraded along, both curious and filled with slight dread what would happen next. He wondered briefly whether that was how actual slaves felt all the time…

_Chaos, don't even go down that road. You just need to make it through this and get back to Shadow. _

Emerald eyes unfocused for a moment as Sonic couldn't help but muse for second what the black hedgehog might be doing now…and whether the Ultimate Lifeform with a blade would actually look kinda hot. He shook his head quickly.

_Sonic the Hedgehog, stop this. You can daydream later all you want, but if Silver finds out you're basically as slave-like as Groucho Marx…_

The blue hedgehog finally slipped off the table and walked over to the others, secretly wondering whether that was another part about falling in love that hadn't yet occurred to him – the little, annoying fact that you wouldn't be able to stop thinking about the other even for a moment.

_Then again, not like I'm gonna miss anything important here, either, _the collared speedster scoffed mentally. _I mean, Silv's been talking for a while now, but I don't think he's said anything import-_

"- which makes for another important skill. So I will demonstrate the use of the technique, and then you can practice with each other. Sonic, please get down in front of me."

_-wait, WHAT? _

xxx

"Ze footwork, mon prince, ze footwork. Ze footwork, mon prince, you are doing it wrongly."

Shadow by now felt tempted to hit his teacher with a thesaurus.

Another lunge barely missed him and he swore under his breath as stumbled – the silly-looking coyote (as he'd found out) moved with deadly speed as soon as there was a blade in his paws and Shadow was starting to have serious trouble to block the attacks the way he was supposed to.

"Non, non_, non! _Do ze parry like zis!"

D'Coolette demonstrated again and gave an elegant flourish with his weapon, at the same time moving his stance slightly backwards and keeping his weight on his back foot to immediately advance as soon as he'd finished. Shadow's expression darkened. He was having trouble with this mostly because he couldn't use his skates. Not many people knew (mostly because the Ultimate Lifeform usually treated information on a I Could Tell You But Then I'd Have To Kill You – basis….) but contrary to Sonic, Shadow's sense of balance and agility depended heavily on his jet shoes, stabilizing bursts of Chaos Energy from their soles often supplementing his movements as integral part of his fighting style.

"_Prime, Seconde, Tierce, Quarte_," the coyote illustrated his non-intelligible words with a serious of moves of his blade, apparently intending to remind Shadow of some sort of basic counter-techniques he should know, but for all the good it did the black hedgehog, his instructor could have been trying to play Pictionary in the air.

"En plus, 'onestly, mon Prince, votre _passatta-sotto_ 'as seen, 'ow do you say it, better weeks."

"My what?" Shadow repeated, the only thing at the moment coming to mind at the moment being the Italian rice dish he'd once tried to cook with Maria and indeed burned horribly.

"Votre _passatta-sotto_," the teacher repeated not very patiently. "Ze move zat-" – Shadow at this point was very hard-pressed to figure out whether he'd rather gag Lazar or this guy if he got the chance – "Ze move zat lets you pass under ze arm of ze opponent and strike from down-_dessous_. You attempted it earlier."

"Ah. Yes," Shadow said. That had actually been one of his techniques that had almost hit their mark. "What was wrong with it?"

"Mon Prince, I cannot stretch zis enough, in a fencing tourné, I am sorry, but it is forbidden to _roll _at your opponent."

Shadow inwardly growled as yet another weapon was taken from him. When he had been a lot younger aboard the ARK, Gerald had told Shadow it had taken him ages (in comparison to the rest of his rapid development) to learn how to walk and the old scientist once surmised that it might stem from his DNA being partially derived from Black Doom, a floating being without legs. So, much like Sonic couldn't achieve very high speeds without his friction heat-resistant sneakers, Shadow the Hedgehog was at a severe disadvantage as soon as he was denied the use of his specialized skates – and the fact was, that if he utilized them _here_, he was likely to be burning at the stake before midday, probably with Lazar claiming Shadow had turned him into a lizard.

"What do I see here? Are you finally training again, Shadow?"

Shadow's heart sank. In this universe, there were exactly two people who called him by name and not by supposed title – and the last time he'd checked, Sonic hadn't had three eyes and a head shaped like an evil anvil. Suppressing a moan with great difficulty, the black hedgehog turned around to face the new arrival.

"Hello, father. How thoughtful of you to drop by…"

xxx

"Errr…what?"

Silver gave Sonic a look that communicated his opinion on non-attentive slaves very thoroughly (but was entirely ineffective on the blue hedgehog. After all, after years of living with his hyperactive older brother, Tails was already the undisputed master of the Haven't-you-been-listening-goddammit – exasperated glance and Sonic had been subjected to it too many times already to really care any more.)

"You. Sit down here. Now," the metallic-hued hedgehog instructed, at the same gesturing to the bare stone floor. "Time's already running out and if I want to complete this last exercise with you, there can be no more dawdling."

"…right..." Sonic replied, lowering himself carefully onto the smooth rock, not quite sure where this was supposed to go. He wondered whether he should be cheered by the fact that the ordeal was almost over but his stomach clenched up just a little when he remembered that afterwards, the insane original Prince had had 'private' lessons scheduled for him with Silver…and Sonic was pretty sure he didn't need those.

"Sit cross-legged. Relax and let yourself sink forward a little."

Blue ears twitched as he could hear the younger hedgehog kneel down himself behind him and a tongue flicked nervously over peach lips as Sonic wondered just what on Mobius Silver was up to. Manic and the cat called Honey just looked on silently, watching. Silver motioned them closer.

"Here, position yourself so you can get a good look. Honey, you can also get down so Manic can practice on you. Now, follow my movements exactly…"

The collared hero almost flinched when those hands came down onto his shoulders again, taking a firm grip of the muscles there. _What-? _

"Shh. I told you to relax."

Sonic had to suppress a strangled sound in his throat, wanting very much to tell Silver that the _last_ time he had been in his grip, he had found himself hurled through a window of a Soleanna café and he doubted that this - whatever it was – would be any more pleasurable. And Silver wanted to demonstrate on him so Manic could 'practice' on the girl…oh gods. The collared hero swallowed but decided that he owed Shadow's efforts at least a last attempt at reasoning before he'd up and run.

Sonic took a breath and turned his head to look at his supposed trainer over his shoulder, emerald eyes wide and slightly fearful, knowing that if this Silver's character was the same as that of the one he knew, the pity card should be rather helpful here.

"Silver…" he began, then, remembering his status, quickly added, " I mean…Master. Please. You don't have to do this to me."

Silver blinked.

"What?"

"This isn't right. You know it isn't."

The confused face of the other turned into a frown.

"What are you talking about? It's a back massage."

"…oh." _I knew that. _

xxx

"What?" Tails snapped uncharacteristically surly as the door bell rang. The two-tailed fox kit was lying rather haphazardly draped across the couch in his workshop-cum-living room, where also the Chaos-safe glass container entrapping Shadow was situated, Sonic curled up in front of it on a rug Rouge had placed in a rare moment of pity there. The blue hedgehog had refused to leave his dark look-alike, and since even in this strange amnesia state he was nowhere near as aggressive as the Ultimate Rageform, none of them had deemed it necessary to restrain him as well. (Plus, if they tried to take him away from his spot in front of Shadow, he simply started to cry and since that made _Tails _cry, Knuckles and Rouge had in the end simply settled for telling Sonic he was not to leave the house and not done anything else. At the very least, the blue speedster seemed to be strangely obedient if not much else, even if in Sonic's case that was simply more disturbing.)

"The door is open, come on in!" the owner of the house shouted at this point, still angry that his nap had been interrupted. The end of the world was due in less than fifty hours, but he still needed his sleep if he was to think clearly…raising his head to see whether it was the echidna or the bat that had come back with news, Tails suddenly wished he was still sleeping and this was a nightmare.

"Hiiii, Tails! I heard something was wrong with my _Sonikku_?"

xxx

Another 'Sonikku' at the moment had difficulty to control his breathing. Silver was _perfect_ at this. Thumbs dug into his muscles, slender fingers kneaded knots out of his back as if they were butter, and those hands danced around his backquills as if they had never done anything else. If anybody had shown up to chain him up for real right now, Sonic wasn't sure whether he'd even have minded, his mind too clouded with the bliss of the massage he was receiving as the demonstrational object.

The hero of Mobius gnashed his teeth to stop himself from groaning as Silver pressed down on a particularly tense part, the pain coupled with the relief afterwards making Sonic feel woozy enough as if he was just coming down from a Super Sonic high.

_Oh gods…_

"Do you think you've got the essentials down now, Manic?"

Silver's voice penetrated the cotton candy that qualified as Sonic's brain right now and the collared hedgehog blinked as he could feel the hands suddenly ceasing in their motion.

…_five more minutes, please?_

"That's good. Then we can switch. Sonic and Honey, I hope you've tried to memorize the techniques," Silver said, getting up from behind the blue hedgehog, grabbing a cushion from one of the benches and seating himself in front of his former charge. "Because now it's your turn. I'm sure your Master will be delighted once you've acquired this skill."

…_wait, what? _

Sonic felt a bit like thrown into cold water as he was so brutally yanked from his own private hedgehog heaven into the harsh reality of his current life as the supposed property of someone else. Then again…

_Hmm…_

Peach-furred hands sank down onto silver-tinted shoulders as the hero of Mobius' face had assumed a calculating expression.

If he could make Shadow feel only half as good as he'd felt just now…

The collared hedgehog got to work, for the first time actually trying his hardest to fulfil his new role to the letter.

xxx

"What, Amy, no, wait-!" Tails had scrambled to his feet, frantically attempting to stop the pink-furred female Armageddon now striding toward the living area, but it was futile. When Amy Rose had set her sights on a certain target of the blue and spiky sort, it was very likely not even steamrollers, Kryptonite, restraining orders or the planet Jupiter (as had been proven) would be able to stop her.

"_Sonikku_! There you are!"

"AHH! Help! HELP!"

"No…" Tails moaned, namesakes bunching up in horror as she had finally dashed past him and was already hugging the life out of her panicking perceived future husband. The kitsune felt like he very, very much needed to go to the bathroom as he then looked at the _third _hedgehog in the room. He swallowed. At this point, saying that Shadow looked 'angry', was a bit like saying that the sun was 'warm'.

"Err…Amy…"

"Ma-master, please, help me!"

"My darling Sonikku, what's wrong?"

"_If you lay one more finger on him I will cut you down."_

Sonic was very unceremoniously dropped on the floor.

"What…?" Amy blinked, for the first time even registering that there was another person in the room.

"Tails, why is Shadow in a giant fish tank?"

"It's…complicated. Look, do you think you could maybe come back later-" the fox kit frantically tried to prevent further damage, but did not get far.

"Master…" Sonic was once again not helping the situation as he was now once more pawing against the glass on the side, kneeling and pressing himself against it as Amy obviously had him spooked. "I'm scared, make her go away, please!"

"Sonic, what the heck?" Amy stared at her hero incredulously, then back at Shadow, who was still busy glaring not daggers, but broadswords at her. The black hedgehog folded his arms.

"He is mine, foolish pink Amazon. Leave now before I destroy you."

Amy's face was for a moment entirely blank. Then, without her moving a single muscle, a giant red mallet _slowly_ appeared in her hand.

"_What_ did you just call me…?"

It was at this point that Tails departed screaming for Knuckles.

_To be continued…_

_

* * *

_*sacks back in relief* Phew. Yes, I know you probably thought I was dead, but hey, 'twas only a hiatus, right? Next chapter should be up faster...especially since it's already written and just needs to get polished some more. ;) Hope you like the new events (Sonic and Shadow don't really seem to...) and I look forward to hearing from you until next time, when Sonic gets into a rather tight spot, Shadow realizes fencing is most definitely _not_ made for him and Black Doom decides to teach a deadly lesson...

And then of course, there's new FANART! Again from Ryuko Vulpix, it's a hilarious adaption of the April Fool's chappie and you can find the link on my profile. If you read, please review? :3 (we made it to 600! w00t!) 

For the fencing, you can also both blame and praise Skyblaze, and of course her wonderful fic 'Beyond Prophecy' which I'm sure all of you are reading anyway. New chapter's up, go check it out! ;) _  
_


	35. Lessons of Life And Death

Aaaand the usual warning - this time, again emphasis on the sensual stuff instead of the fighting and comedy, so those of you who be easily squicked, you're hereby warned! :P

**Chapter 35: ****Lessons of Life And Death**

"Mm-hmm. Yes, I believe you've got the gist of it," Silver said, giving Sonic at the same time an actual smile over his shoulder. "You can stop now."

Sonic could feel a small grin stealing onto his lips, despite his current circumstances feeling proud that he'd been able to fulfill what had been asked of him. Plus, he couldn't wait to try it out on Shadow…

"Right," Silver rose, clapping into his hands. "Get up, you lot. Lesson for today is over. You've all done very well and I'll tell your owners you behaved splendidly."

Manic actually looked pleased, which cheered Sonic a little bit up, even if Honey's still vacant stare let his anger rise again. But this would all end tonight. Not long to go, now…

"Oy! Doorman!" Silver called, his summons soon being answered by the spotted frog shuffling inside the room again.

"Yes? Want me to take these back?"

"The green one and the girl, yes. That one I'm keeping here," Silver announced, for the first time since the relaxing massage letting that feeling of dread return to the pit of Sonic's stomach. He watched with apprehension as Manic and Honey were led away, the brief look of good-bye from his new green-furred friend a small consolation. The hero of Mobius considered running away as soon as the heavy oak door fell shut.

"Well, there's hardly any reason for us two to stay in this oversized hall any longer. Let's move to something more appropriate," the metallic-hued hedgehog suggested, at the same time turning around and walking toward the smaller door he had come from earlier. Sonic was left standing there surprised at first, the idea that somebody was not _forcing_ him to walk anywhere quite the novelty after a week spent as a slave of the castle.

_Well, yeah, that or he assumes me to be broken e__nough so I wouldn't even get the *idea* of not following him. _

Stopping himself at the last second not to catch up to Silver with super speed, the hero of Mobius jogged after him at a more sedate pace, cocking his head curiously at the inside of the smaller chamber the door led to.

It actually looked quite…homely.

"This is where I stay while I am at the castle, in case you wonder," Silver said as if he'd read his thoughts, waiting until Sonic had entered the smaller room containing nothing but a bed, a table, a chair and a chest in the corner.

"It's, uh, nice?" Sonic suggested, not entirely sure whether he was supposed or allowed to answer, but truthfully getting rather fed up with not being able to talk. Silver turned around.

"Right. Take off the rest of your clothes."

"Huh?" Sonic's eyes widened slightly, the hedgehog now alarmed. "Why?"

"Because I told you to. Lie down on the bed."

"What?" The collared hero now actually took a reflexive step backwards, unconsciously already shifting into a battle-ready stance. Silver didn't look aggressive, just a curious mixture between interested and serious, but that didn't particularly re-assure Sonic. Maybe it would be best if he vanished now…he could be out of this room before Silver even had time to _think _about blinking.

But then, instead of calling for the guards, the metallic-hued hedgehog merely raised an eye ridge.

"You're not really broken, are you?"

xxx

Shadow hissed with pain as Antoine actually managed to nick his ear with his blade as he hadn't dodged fast enough, a small drop of blood staining the metal. This was looking worse and worse.

"Shadow! Do not dare to fail me!" Black Doom (the apparent chain-smoker) hollered in the background, making Shadow curiously wish Black Doom's Eye was still around so he could tie its tentacles into a knot like he once had. Briefly, he also wondered whether Sonic was okay and if anything could have happened to him, but then dismissed that thought. After all, in Shadow's opinion, it was Sonic who happened to _other _people.

xxx

_Damn. Discovered. _

Sonic stared at Silver for a fraction of a second like a (blue) deer caught in very amber headlights, briefly wondering whether he should try to talk his way out of it, but then deciding against it; better escape now while the other was still confused. Muscles tensed as the hero of Mobius prepared to spin-dash through the door, about to launch off – which was when he noticed he couldn't move a single inch. Emerald eyes grew wide as Sonic then, with cold rising all the way through his body, noticed a very bright, very familiar, very _turquoise _glow enveloping Silver's hands as well Sonic's form entirely.

Sonic's form, which was suddenly suspended three feet above the floor.

_Well. Shit. _

. xxx

"It does not seem like you're at your best today, Shadow," Black Doom remarked. Not very helpfully, Antoine chose that very moment to flick his wrist and let the black hedgehog's blade jump right out of his hand. Again. Shadow gave a barely suppressed growl as Greytail hastily scrambled to pick it up for him.

"Mon Prince, you need to 'ave more, 'ow do you say, earnestity," his fencing instructor rebuked, giving Shadow a disapproving glare which the Ultimate Lifeform easily met with one of his own annoyed ones. Anyone in his home dimension (well, save for Sonic, probably….) would have already recognized the Ultimate Lifeform's tell-tale warning signs of the Twitchy Ear, Raised Chestfluff, plus small birds dropping dead from the sky, and run for the hills screaming, but Antoine did not seem to be equipped with such rapid alert systems. He raised another eye ridge.

"Mon Prince, pardon le question, but 'ow do you _zink _you will survive on ze field of battle wiz skills pazetic like zis?"

It took a _lot _of self-restraint not to unleash a Chaos Blast right now.

Shadow breathed deeply, barely stopping himself from telling the coyote right this very minute that in reality, anyone who was stupid enough to attack him with nothing but a nancy piece of metal would end up as a giant marshmallow on a stick.

Well.

Something _resembling_ a marshmallow, at least.

"I agree with General D'Coolette, Shadow. This won't do if you're to lead my army," Black Doom grumbled at this point, rather forcefully reminding the midnight hedgehog he was far from alone with his linguistically challenged teacher. In fact, the part of the castle courtyard where the rectangle fencing area was set up had become the focus of quite the crowd. It consisted mainly of what seemed to be young nobles, soldiers at leisure, or stable boys and servants who pretended to be busy, but had in fact walked past with craning heads carrying the very same buckets or baskets five times in a row now. Shadow glared at the ground in front of Black Doom, now secretly wondering whether Sonic hadn't perhaps gotten the better part of the deal.

"I understand, father. Of course, leading your army is a great responsibility."

_It's also one I didn't previously know I had. _

"I apologize if my performance today is below expectations because of my recent illn-"

"Nonsense, Shadow! As my progeny, you should be above such mundane excuses! Now show me your real fighting prowess; fit for fighting a war! The day of reckoning shall soon be here…!"

The Ultimate Lifeform heaved another big sigh.

'The day of reckoning'.

Now, was is just him or had this adventure just turned into a movie called 'Hedgehog Day'…?

xxx

"Look…" Sonic tried to remain calm. "Please, let me down. I can explain this," he tried, relieved that Silver was still allowing him movement of his head, although he wasn't at all sure what he was supposed to say. For some reason, the other now seemed slightly confused, though.

"You don't seem to be scared of my powers," the metallic-hued hedgehog stated, making it sound a bit like a question. Sonic wasn't certain whether he could actually detect a note of relief in there, too, almost as if that was for some reason a very rare experience for the younger one.

"…well, I've met a telekinetic guy like you before," the blue hero ventured as an explanation which was probably as far as he could get to the truth without being declared downright insane.

"What? Where have you met him?"

"Back in my, uh, homeland. It's really far away from here, though."

Silver nodded. "Then you weren't captured that long ago, were you? That explains it…"

"Um, yeah, sure," Sonic replied, still not entirely certain whether this conversation was taking a turn for the better or worse. Still feeling slightly awkward suspended in the air as he was, he tried to shift again with little success. "So, hey, listen, if you wouldn't mind putting me daaah!"

Sonic gave a surprised shout as he was suddenly flipped forwards and turned horizontal, and then emerald eyes widened abruptly as without warning, a very corporeal hand was touching his thigh, fingers digging into the sensitive tissue.

"What-?"

"But what really intrigued me were your muscles," Silver mused, completely ignoring the collared hedgehog on the verge of panicking, trying to struggle futilely against the psychic powers that kept him immobile in the air, his legs splayed out at a comfortable height to be examined by the telekinetic. Silver ran a hand up and down the blue-furred, twitching leg, oblivious to the hitching of breath that produced. "Your legs must be strong…"

_If only you had the faintest idea, _Sonic thought frantically, at the same time trying desperately to ignore the ticklish sensation of the fingers brushing against the inside of his knees. What the hell did Silver want from him? He was way out of his depth if he couldn't even _move_…Sonic could feel the heat shooting into his cheeks again, both from embarrassment and his body reacting to the intimate touch.

"Also, that is rather…silky fur you have. Rare on slaves like you, you're usually not kept in the right condition to produce this…" the metallic-hued trainer stated, his voice still light as slender fingers trailed lines through Sonic's blue pelt. The older hedgehog bit down on his tongue to bite back a groan, but wouldn't have been able to reply anyway; after all, what was he supposed to say, that the state of his fur was probably mainly due to the showering gel he used which said 'for shinier fur'?

_And then the only reason that I'm buying that brand is 'cause it's blue…_

"And finally your spines," Silver continued, thankfully finally removing his torturous hand from Sonic's limbs to briefly brush over the tip of one his back quills, "are _sharp. _Unusually so."

"My Master likes them that way."

_Not to mention *I* do, _the collared hero was finally able to reply, even if inwardly grating his teeth. He had been getting used to being groped and most people seeing him as a living toy, but that didn't mean he accepted it. Goddammit, if he was treated like a slave for much longer he'd go absolutely _nuts_.

"I see," Silver replied, and, with another wave of his hand again uprighted Sonic, eliciting a slight intake of breath but no second yelp from the older hedgehog. Now he was once more suspended in front of Silver, unable to move, but at least in a position to make eye contact. Emerald met amber as the speedster tried to think hard of anything he might be able to say so the other one would let him go without passing on any of his findings to Black Doom or Lazar.

"Your owner has…peculiar taste in pets. But of course I wouldn't dream to judge the Crown Prince and he may keep you as he wishes. Which reminds me that we probably should get started on the actual program…"

"Actual program?" Sonic asked, repeating the other's words to stall for a bit more time. He was getting worried again, helped in no way by the fact that he still couldn't really defend himself. Silver had had not extended the reach of his powers to Sonic's head, leaving the collared hero free to look around and talk, but the rest of his body was suspended pretty stiffly in the air, arms and legs spread slightly apart. Not physically uncomfortable so far, but mentally very much so.

"Yes, of course," Silver said. "Why else would you be here? I've heard you're not very experienced…"

He made a movement with his hand and Sonic gasped. His whole body suddenly wanted to arch and to squirm, but he couldn't, still held fast. Because _now_ he could feel the otherwise invisible psychic energy concentrating in a very certain spot and it felt like a wedge and he was slowly being forced apart…

"No!" Sonic all at once turned wide-eyed with utter panic. He knew that technically, there was nothing back there, but it sure felt like it and that was already too much. "Stop!" he shouted as the push only became stronger, now threatening to make its way inside – Sonic had to grit his teeth at the unwelcome (if not yet painful) sensation and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a moment, feeling the heat shoot into his cheeks. Anger flared up inside him as he tried to struggle against the invader and could feel it futile, but that didn't mean he would go down without a fight. "Silver! Don't _do_ this to me, dammit!" the blue speedster barked, throwing his quilled head back wildly as it became too much for a moment, but still managing to focus a warning glare at the silver-furred trainer right afterwards, daring him to proceed with this.

"…what?" The metallic-hued hedgehog frowned, perhaps more surprised by the familiar address than anything else. Sonic could feel the telekinetic forces stopping their movement, even if not vanishing, still leaving him feeling rather furious and also very awkward. The psychic hedgehog looked at him, seeming a bit confused. "Why should I stop?"

"I don't want this," Sonic grated through his teeth as he was struggling to stay coherent, the…the…_thing _below threatening to make him lose his focus and his embarrassment only intensifying, because Silver had to _know_ what he was doing to him at the moment…ears folded themselves flat against his head, the entire hedgehog as uncomfortable as could be, but eyes still narrowed in defiance. If Silver thought he was going to lie down (well, technically, float up…) and just take this, he was sorely mistaken.

And then it vanished as the younger hedgehog raised an eye ridge. Sonic instantly almost sagged in relief.

"Ugh…"

"But - I don't understand," Silver said, gazing into his eyes. "You know someone is going to do that to you eventually, don't you?"

"…I do," Sonic replied reluctantly, eyes hardening as he reminded himself that for many slaves in this world that scenario would be horrid reality. By now he was still trying to get his adrenaline-flooded body under control again, heart and breath rate racing.

"Well, then why won't you let me _help_?" Silver asked and for one brief moment, Sonic actually thought the younger hedgehog sounded hurt.

"Help?" the collared hero managed with an incredulous look. He had to admit, he was rather angry at the other for trying something like this, but he _had_ stopped and now he was resembling just a little bit too much a kicked feral puppy…

"Yes, of course," the silver hedgehog replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "You know it's going to hurt. I'm here to make this easier for you – prepare you so it won't be as bad when he claims you. I'm good at that, you know?" Again, it almost sounded a bit reproachful.

"Oh yeah?" Sonic's voice was just a tad bit higher pitched than usual, mostly due to a bit of residual hysteria now making itself known, which had to be suppressed before he could continue. "Okay. Listen, Silver, that's, uh…well I suppose you _think_ it's nice," - _in your own bat-crazy medieval slave dimension-way and all_ - "but in my case I'd really rather you didn't."

"But why? Look, we can start with minimal force-" the other tried to argue and already Sonic could feel the pressure mounting again, threatening to –

"No! Silver, I _mean_ it!"

"But _why_?" The non-corporeal push had once more subsided as soon as the other's concentration had dropped, but now the silver hedgehog was staring at Sonic with an honestly puzzled expression, not only at the supposed pet's sudden commanding voice, but also because he apparently really believed he was doing the other a favour and Sonic was simply acting weird about it.

"Because…" the blue hero's brain was racing, mouth opening and closing as he tried to say something, _anything_, "…because…" he tried again, but for the life of him didn't know what to say that would make sense as long as his body effectively wasn't even his property anymore. "…because…"

The pain wouldn't be so bad, some mad part of his mind insisted, he wasn't afraid of the hurt, had been through far worse in his various adventures already; nor would it be that humiliating – there wasn't even any actual contact and Silver wasn't trying to harm, but to help, and it _would_ make things easier in the long run, and he would be able to stay in his role instead of wrecking their show and…Sonic could feel his mind clogging up as once again the surrounding insanity tried to make him part of its bunnies-in-Arkham –styled tapestry. The only image that he could focus on as he stared at Silver, still trying to say anything, was Shadow; Shadow as Sonic had fought him, Shadow as Sonic had teased him, Shadow as Sonic had cuddled up to him, Shadow as he would ask Sonic what had happened today while he hadn't been there…and then something seemed to flash in Sonic's gaze, for it was Silver who all at once broke the silence.

"You want it to be him, don't you?"

"Huh?" Sonic blinked, the whirl of images in his mind stopping for a moment. "What do you-?"

"You want to preserve yourself for your Master."

The hero of Mobius felt as if he'd swallowed a cannonball.

_Did he just…? _Sonic had to process the words. Of course, that would be a brilliant reply to get out of this. He nodded quickly.

"Yeah. Yeah, if anyone's going to have me…I want it to be Shadow," Sonic said - and then immediately snapped his mouth shut as he realized that it hadn't felt like a lie when he spoke it aloud.

His stomach started to practice origami again…

_Did I really just say I wanted to be…by that faker? _The hero of Mobius felt like his blood was pounding, feeling suddenly rather warm despite the chill of the castle. His thoughts leapt back to last night when he had been torn in between desire and that last bit of uncharacteristic apprehension, not entirely sure whether he really wanted to go that last step yet, which would have involved leaving himself truly vulnerable and completely at the mercy of the other. But now that he'd actually said it…how it had made him feel about Shadow…it seemed as if Silver's lessons had been instructive in more than just one way.

"I see." Said instructor once again cut through his thoughts. "Well, that's commendable and acceptable…although you know I have to punish you for using you Master's name."

Sonic drew a grimace. "Please don't."

"Calling your Master by name is an intolerable offence. So far I've overlooked a lot of aberrant behaviour from you, but this I can't."

Sonic sighed, emerald eyes closing and opening again to look at the other with a new-found seriousness in them. He really wasn't fond of talking about this to anyone, but…

"Shadow wouldn't want you to hurt me. Especially not for using his name."

There was slight pause as Silver regarded him, the silence now almost tangible. Sonic could hear the sound of his own breathing and even louder the hammering of his heart as the other hedgehog appeared deep in thought, mental gears turning behind his usually so calm amber eyes. Finally, there seemed to shift something in that gaze.

"You actually love him, don't you?"

_I have heard of people having heart-to-heart talks in odd situations, but this is ridiculous. _

"Er…"

"It's not just the loyalty of a pet you feel, it's actually…the love of one unbroken spirit for another…" Silver continued, his voice sounding slightly surprised but not disbelieving, more as if various collected puzzle pieces of the lesson were just falling into place for him. "But the Crown Prince…tell me, does he feel the same? About you? Does he know of your feelings?"

_Chaos, __*what*? _

Sonic felt a bit like asking Silver whether he always had an impromptu Oprah session in between his lessons, but then supposed it didn't really matter.

_We shared our first kiss over the body of a guy Shadow just impaled on a Chaos Spear, so I honestly shouldn't be surprised if things have just gotten weirder from then on. _

"Well…" Sonic looked aside, hoping he'd at least be let down again if he tried to be a bit co-operative. "Yes, he knows. And I _think_ he also feels the same way." _When he isn't handing me over to telekinetic slave-trainers with a fable for Freud. _

Silver nodded. "In that case, it would explain your lack of disciplinary injuries. It doesn't seem like he was trying to break you very hard…"

_Yes, and I wouldn't want to change that little key-factor in our relationship, thank you ever so much. _"No," Sonic said aloud. "He's happy with the way things are."

Silver shrugged. "Well, in that case, my mission is fulfilled."

"Wait, what?" the collared hero blinked, not believing he was let off the hook that easily. "You're not going to…try any more stuff?"

"No," Silver replied simply. "I don't believe in unnecessary cruelty. The sole purpose of my training is that your owner is satisfied with you, and if that is the case despite you being neither tamed nor completely submissive, then I don't see why I should change that," the younger hedgehog said…and then actually let see a little smile.

"Oh. Okay." Sonic was a bit taken aback, but not about to question his good luck. Then again, maybe it wasn't that surprising. Silver might have been viewing him as a slave and property of someone else, and that still weirded Sonic out a little, but ultimately, despite having been raised in world with twisted values like this one, he did seem to be a good guy at heart…

"But before we finish, tell me: You are a virgin, are you not?"

_Scratch 'good guy'. Replace it with 'suckerpuncher when you've let your guard down'. _

"Uh…yeah…" Sonic replied with about as much dignity as he could muster, now very definitely averting his gaze and staring at the wall, feeling the renewed blush on his face and hating it.

"And is your Master planning on changing that any time soon?"

_Charmy would have more sense of __freakin tact than you! _

Sonic would have liked to shout at this point, but didn't. Instead, his brain had the grace to dig up a few very particular memories from last night, of dark-furred fingers holding his hips, fawn lips exploring his neck, the musky scent of fire searing his nostrils and the midnight hedgehog's voice whispering temptation…

"Why do you ask?" Sonic managed instead, his tone almost neutral (save for a slight croaking).

"Well," Silver began, turning around for a moment and picking some sort of a jar out of a drawer. "Because if he is, then I'd give this gel to you to keep."

"Wait…" The blue hedgehog thought he couldn't believe this.

"It's very rarely used – most owners don't mind hurting their pets when they enjoy you – but in your case, I think the Crown Prince might appreciate this to make it a bit easier on you. You see, you simply scoop a bit-"

"_I think I know how it works!" _

"Ah. Well, then," Silver said, placing the jar with the ominous substance on the table. "Not quite inexperienced, I see."

_Yes, because Shadow recently dragged me to a porn shop and the previous prince was a pervert. I seriously need to reconsider my career path… _

"Good. I don't think there's anything left for me to teach you, then. But we still have about half an hour before the lesson is over…" Silver mused, at the same time waving a hand and finally releasing the stiff hold on Sonic's limbs and body, even if the blue hedgehog was still levitated. A slight flick of the metallic-hued trainer's fingers let the collared hero do a little bit of a flip in the air. "… so what am I supposed to do with you until then?"

"Woah!" Sonic called out as he was unexpectedly spun, and immediately turned himself around to look at Silver, but could only read faint amusement in the other's gaze. Was Silver actually…_playing_ with him? A small grin almost crept onto Sonic's features. He wasn't quite as freaked out anymore, since there seemed no immediate danger and the other one was, despite his background, actually a reasonable guy to talk to. No longer immobilized and relishing his freedom as well as the zero gravity field, the blue hedgehog made a show of pretending to lie on thin air, gazing down at Silver with his chin propped up on his elbows.

"Hm, I dunno. You maybe have a Dreamcast lying around?"

"What?"

"Nevermind," Sonic waved it off and Silver again looked puzzled with this odd pet. He shook his five-quilled head.

"Let me rephrase this: Is there anything you'd particularly want to learn to please your Master?"

Sonic blinked.

_Learn a slave skill to make Shadow happy…_he hadn't actually thought about it like that before, only having obeyed Silver's orders reluctantly, but actually…

_Heh. Some of that stuff might be…nice to do for him, _Sonic thought and then immediately tried to shake his head, again the role the people here were trying to push onto him coming way too close to his comfort zone. If he himself actually started going along with it, then…

_That's nonsense. Just because I want to please him it doesn't make me his…pet or whatever. _In fact, the lessons here could actually have been helpful if he wanted to take the initiative in their relationship a bit more by letting Silver teach him what he could do that Shadow could like…and making Sonic feel less blundering than last night, too. The blue hedgehog racked his brain what the midnight hedgehog might appreciate most that Sonic could do for him at this point. The collared hero snipped his fingers.

"Oooh, I know!"

"Yes?" Silver asked encouragingly. "What is it?"

"Can you teach me how to make a really nice omelet? Shads hasn't eaten properly in _days._"

xxx

"_Chaos Dammit_!" Shadow hissed, as Antoine managed to breach his defences for the umpteenth time, the blade touching his vest right above his heart. The black hedgehog's reaction time was far superior to the coyote's of course, which probably accounted for him blocking the majority of the attacks of the highly-trained swordsmaster at all, but so far, experience was still winning out over simple speed. He would probably be able to win if they continued fighting for longer, simply waiting until Antoine's body would eventually grow tired, but that was time he didn't have. Already, he could feel the mounting fury in his adoptive father's burning gaze on his back. If their charade crumbled to pieces _now_, while they were separated, then…

_Slice._

"Enough!" Black doom hollered, rising from the wooden chair that had been brought out for him, that one word splicing through the air like a lightning strike as again, Antoine parried Shadow's blade with frustrating ease, feinted, and then actually slashed across the other's right hand he had neglected to keep safe – and it had been a powerful thrust, the only thing saving him from getting his hand impaled his power ring which had deflected the blade. The black hedgehog apparently had at least been lucky that his doppelganger had been left-handed, too…

"This display is a disgrace, Shadow!" the monster King roared, letting most nobles look everywhere but at the supposed Prince. "I can't imagine why you would fail me like this!"

"Well, father-"

"But I can imagine! It's that time you spend with those mindless, degenerate _pets _of yours, useless creatures that do neither work nor can you even seem to manage breaking them properly!"

"You overlook that Sonic-" Shadow again tried to interrupt, not quite sure why he for the first time felt like he was some teenager getting reamed out by a parent. On the ARK, Professor Gerald had delivered quite a few lectures when Maria and Shadow had done things they weren't quite supposed to (including, but not limited to, trying to watch 'The Defurrer' at half past two in the morning on the adult channel…), but this was rapidly approaching absurdity levels rivaling those in said horror movie.

"But I will not permit this. I think you need a more practical demonstration if you are to learn the art of the blade, perhaps?"

_Does that include practicing on your dead body? _"Well, father…"

"Silence. I already know what to do. And see who has arrived just in time…" Black Doom's voice suddenly shifted from fury to that sort of glee that made you want to wash your hand afterwards and Shadow immediately tensed, looking around to what his homicidal 'father' was gesturing to. And froze on the spot.

xxx

"That's looking pretty good," Silver ventured, raising an eye ridge at the yellow mass in the pan. He also nicely enough ignored the rather larger pile of black, egg-shell-pickled, and half-raw stuff in the bucket _next_ to the fire, but that wasn't Sonic's main concern, either. So far, the only thing he could reliably produce was Chili Dogs, with Tails' specialty being pancakes. In between that, Amy coming over to cook, two minute noodles and take-away, until now the two unlike brothers had led the happy culinary life of a bachelor household - which also meant that both of them would have died of cardiovascular disease long ago if not for all the running. The blue hero figured it actually rather smart to find a way to expand their diet a little.

"Add the mushrooms…stir it…flip it…that's okay, I've caught it, I'll levitate it back to the pan…there. Ready to be put on the rice."

Sonic did so, smiling at the result. Around them, various kitchen servants were staring at them like culinarily-inclined owls, wondering what in the world an obviously high-ranking castle employee was doing in the kitchens with a pleasure slave of all things, but none of them so far had dared to question the silver hedgehog.

"Nice. Looking good, don'tcha think?" Sonic asked Silver with satisfaction, getting only a slightly exasperated glance in reply, the trainer's usual reaction to his behaviour now that he had decided to drop all pretences.

"Yes. Though I would prefer you to not forget your place, even so." Another whack with the stick followed.

"Aww, come on, I did everything else you wanted from me, didn't I?" Sonic asked, cheerfully ignoring the small pain. Before they had come here, Silver had actually made him perform one last set of exercises, mostly having to do with Sonic assuming and holding a range of unusual positions, all of which the hedgehog had been able to produce easily, again to his trainer's slight astonishment. But of course, the collared hero's muscles and sinews were used to the much higher levels of strain and flexibility their crazy owner usually demanded from them (in fact, had Sonic's body been a ship, there probably would have been a mutiny long ago, with Captain 'Now let's see whether I can't outrun that rocket!' -Brain abandoned on some godforsaken island afterwards…)

But it had meant that none of the exercises had actually been pain- or stressful for the hero, feeling more like some odd yoga – even if he couldn't help but blush occasionally, mostly because he couldn't keep from noticing how most of the positions usually involved him spreading two particular limbs apart and/or leaving a certain body part rather exposed and vulnerable. But then again, Silver _had_ claimed they would help later on…

"Yes, you did, and you were very good," Silver assured him at this point. "That omelet looks delicious and I think you actually deserve a reward." Blue ears pricked up as the metallic-hued hedgehog then at his words proceeded to hook Sonic's leash in himself and smiled again.

"How would you like to go see your Master practice fencing?"

xxx

_Sonic_.

_Shadow. _

Both hedgehogs' stares met clear across the court yard, one of them still clutching his rapier in bewilderment, the other led along by his supposed trainer. None of them could say anything, even if the name of their partner was all they could think of, but at least their gazes conveyed everything there was to know.

_Sonic, are you…?_

_I'm fine.__ Always am. _

Shadow could feel a small wave of relief relaxing his muscles again, probably invisible to anyone but his blue doppelganger himself. It didn't last for long, though.

"Slave Trainer!" Black Doom's voice cut through the air like a rusty chainsaw. "How convenient for you to join us. And now, if you would bring my son's pet forward…I believe a little practical application of the deadly art of fencing is _just _what he needs."

_To be continued…

* * *

_Ermm...anybody still reading? Yes? No? Gah, I'm so sorry to leave the story abandoned for so long, exam hell tripped me up... :P But now I'm free...! (...and actually heading to Summer of Sonic. Can't wait! XD) Hope you liked the new chapter, tho, and I think I'd like to claim some sort of prize to be the first one to have included a fluffy omelette cooking scene, in a yaoi slave fanfic, with telekinetic powers used. XD A huge thanks also goes out to Skyblaze this time, who helped me a lot with the fencing and ICness. Heh, NEVER think a story is really the work of a single person. ;)

If you (still) read, please review?;)

Also, I gotta apologize - I noticed the link for the latest Fanart didn't show up last time, so now that's fixed. :) Thanks again so much for drawing them, they make me insanely happy!^^


	36. The Pleasure Slave and the Sword Master

**Chapter 36****: The Pleasure Slave and the Sword Master **

Shadow felt as if every bit of warmth coursing through his body had just turned into ice crystals clogging his veins at Sonic's sight. Beside him, Silver seemed to falter for a moment in his steps, too.

"Excuse me, Sire?"

"You have heard my words, trainer! Bring that creature over here so he can be of use at least once in his miserable life – when it_ ends_!" Black Doom hollered, accompanying his command with an imperious swipe of his clawed hand. Sonic noticed quite a few of the watching females (and some males…) suddenly looking sick and leaving the scene, yet others only seeming to get more excited. The hero of Mobius privately made a mental memo of the faces, so when the pitchforked mob would finally storm the castle, he could point them out especially.

"I'm sorry, Sonic…please come on," Silver said to him and the blue hedgehog was surprised to see the other's eyes actually looking pained as the telekinetic hedgehog forced him to take another step forward by pulling at his leash. The younger one beheld Sonic a bit like someone who had lovingly hand-raised a horse foal, tied ribbons into its mare and took it on walks, just to hear the eventual buyer say 'This'll make a _lovely_ salami!'

The blue hedgehog gave his supposed trainer a small smile as he followed the tug easily. "Don't worry, it'll be alright," he replied quietly as they approached the watching audience. Silver didn't seem able to look into his face again.

"Father," Shadow began even while he was actually staring at Sonic (after recovering from his hastily-covered up surprise at seeing Silver), the blue hedgehog feeling those crimson eyes roving all over his body as the pretend Prince apparently checked and double-checked any visible inch of his supposed slave to make sure they really hadn't harmed him. Sonic resisted the urge to do a little twirl, knowing that Black Doom in that case would be likely to have him quartered. Instead, he contented himself by just staring back at Shadow, relishing the outside air and sunshine while his brain was running the usual background calculations; number of potential enemies and combatants around in case of a fight, innocents standing by that would have to be considered, position of exits and things to jump from, room to run, make-shift and actual weapons available, his and Shadow's positions relative to the Big Bad, aka Black Doom, range, possible skill level and aggressiveness of anyone concerned and of course, which stunts he could pull with that haycart that would make him look totally awesome. His conscious thoughts, naturally, were occupied with more important matters.

_Uh-huh, I was right. Shadow with a sword does look __very__ hot, actually._

"Father," the black hedgehog started again, this time managing to actually look at the one he was addressing (which was important especially since Sonic now for some reason had assumed that look that Shadow had come to associate with the blue speedster thinking about something tasty of all things), "What is this supposed to be about? I want Sonic be taken back to my quarters, I did not have him go through this training if he's going to get damaged while down here."

"That, Shadow, is not for you to decide," Black Doom retorted, a low threat lying underneath his words like a snake about to strike. "I am your King and as such I will treat both you and your property as I see fit. You have disappointed me. This warrants punishment and sons who fail their father will have their toys taken from them, you should know that."

Sonic and Shadow quickly exchanged a glance. This would be it. They'd have to fight, and fight right now. Sonic was starting to get a little bit apprehensive, mostly due to the fact that Silver's powers could become a real nuisance if he decided to turn them against him while they were also fighting against Black Doom. He just had to hope that maybe he would side with the supposed Prince…

"Lead my son's slave onto the field," the King ordered Silver at this point. "Leave him there and take his leash off. If your training has failed and he tries to flee, it is your life which is forfeit as well, so you should pray he stays."

"Y…yes, Sire," Silver replied, swallowing hard. Again, he looked at Sonic, his eyes an apology, a scar within, a question. Sonic wondered how old this Silver might be. He breathed a small sigh.

"Go. I don't risk the lives of others for mine. I promise I won't run."

"Thank you," the trainer whispered. "When this is over, I…I'll try to do something, I won't-"

He fell silent when they arrived at the centre of the cleared space, Black Doom hovering in front of them, Shadow and the strange blonde-haired Sapient that perhaps was his teacher off to the side, and the onlookers about ten metres away. Sonic could feel the leash finally be taken off his collar and twisted his neck a little. Run? Attack? Wait? Sonic shot a glance at Shadow, carrying his blade and looking tense and decided to wait for his signal before he did anything. His muscles were readying themselves to dodge any attack if Black Doom decided to try and kill him without warning…

"Father, I have at least a right to know what you want with him! If it's my fencing that's bothering you so much I'll be happy to train throughout the entire night, but bringing Sonic here is-"

"-the only way to make you learn," Black Doom cut through Shadow's words with the sharpness of a butcher's sword. "D'Coolette will demonstrate what I want to see from you one more time…on a living object. Let _blood_ be the teacher where words will not work."

"No!" Shadow stepped forward, standing next to Sonic now. "At least let me try one more time." Sonic could see his hand clasping his sword; the fabric of his glove was stretched so tightly across his knuckles, the blue hedgehog could feel a tiny flip in his stomach at the concern of the other.

"Too little, too late. D'Coolette, step forward."

"Shadow, we should make a run for it," Sonic hissed.

The black hedgehog scowled. "No. We fight them here and now."

"Shadow, Silver's got psycho powers here, too!" the blue speedster insisted. "This could become way too uncontrollable."

Shadow's eyes narrowed even further, the aggression that had been building up inside ever since the jinxed sword lesson now bubbling dangerously close to the surface, audible in his tone and visible in the hell fire of his glare. "Even if the whole court was against us, I'd fight like I always have."

"Shadow, I'm ordering you one last time to step away. Even if it seems you've finally broken your pet enough he can follow such a simple command as to stay still, I am sure as soon as D'Coolette heaves into him, he will twist and strain - and while I want you to keep your distance, I want you to _watch_ – since the quick attacks seem to give you such trouble, now witness how those very same moves will easily kill even the ones desperate to get away."

Both Sonic's and Shadow's eyes had blazed at the words, but the black hedgehog was far better at keeping his disgust and fury under control. His tone was oddly calm when he spoke.

"So Sonic is allowed to dodge to preserve his life?"

Black Doom laughed and it sounded like a nightmare of laughter, twisted and blood-drenched and wrong. "Dodge he may," he drawled, "But this field is the limit of his range. Now step away, Shadow and watch your pet die as my enemies will…"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged another glance. The immediate alarm had vanished from their expression, but the tenseness was still there. Shadow's eyes seemed to ask the tiniest question…

Sonic nodded subtly.

_Yeah. Let me take him on. _

Shadow bowed his head. "Very well. I will not go against you, father," he replied, finally retreating to the side of the field again. Sonic remained standing where he was, remembering the lesson and taking great care to fold his ears, tail and quills neatly against his body while looking at the floor to appear as non-threatening as possible. The coyote called D'Coolette advanced, taking a stiff bow.

"_Votre Majesté_, I cannot fight 'im. 'e is not armed. It 'as no '_oneur_."

_It doesn't have any __*what*? _Sonic stared at the canine pretty much dumb-struck, Shadow already feeling slight dread rising within him as he could recognize the tell-tale signs of giggling and wise-cracking creeping up on his supposed slave.

Fortunately, Black Doom cut in before Sonic could make any possibly escargot-related jokes.

"This is not a fight, General. This is a demonstration on a straw puppet."

"_Mais_-"

"I am not offering you a choice, D'Coolette."

"_Oui_, sire." The coyote dropped his head. Sonic at this point noted that apparently, there weren't that many people happy with their king…

The fencing instructor interrupted his thoughts as he then stepped in front of Sonic who still hadn't moved and with a deep breath, drew his blade. The collared hero shifted his weight almost imperceptibly, toes flexing inside his sneakers…

"Please be careful, General," Shadow at this point interrupted pleasantly. "I wouldn't want my slave to hurt you."

The assembled crowd laughed politely at the perceived joke, but those who did, had mostly failed to notice the very serious warning glance Shadow had directed at _Sonic_ during the last part.

"Very _drôle_, mon Prince," Antoince replied a bit testily. "One should show en peu plus respect at a death, even if it is ze death of a, 'ow do you say it, 'ouse pig."

_WHAT did you just call me? _Sonic bristled immediately, feeling himself reminded of the last time he had faced an insulting, yet oddly effeminate guy with a sharp blade in his hand, (but hoped that Erazor at the moment was still licking his wounds in the Arabian Nights and Antoine hadn't yet learned how to shoot a fire arrow).

"He's a hedgehog, like me," Shadow replied calmly. "And don't worry, I shall be watching his 'death' with the appropriate concern."

"Very well," the coyote nodded, apparently not quite hearing the quotation marks. And then, within a second, he charged.

xxx

"Right. Let's try this again. Name?"

"I'm sorry, but my name is not mine to tell…I can't talk to you unless my Master allows me to…" Sonic looked at his feet.

"And that would be me. Prince Shadow of Doom and I demand to see your ruler, wench." The black hedgehog crossed his arms.

"Amy. Amy Rose, future Miss Amy Sonic the Hedgehog. And it was _that_ jerk who started it," Amy finished, jabbing a thumb at the still aloof Ultimate Lifeform. Essentially, all three of them looked like they had been through a blender.

The police chief of the squad who had been called to take care of the pandemonium at Tails' place gave them all a veeery long look. The two-tail himself thought it probably wouldn't help matters if he tried to convince him he didn't have time for this because the world was going to end since a magic gemstone was missing.

Then again, privately, he was by now actually looking forward to it.

xxx

Shadow was mesmerized. The battle had only gone on for a minute, but already, most of the crowd was staring at the blur of motions on the field with their eyes wide and bodies frozen. Shadow had little trouble discerning the shapes, but was hard pressed not to let his eyes widen as well at the sheer amount of skill clashing in front of him.

Antoine moved even faster than before. He had started off more than slow, his intent on showing Shadow clean and precise slashes and thrusts.

However, when his blade struck, Sonic for some reason just never seemed to get hit.

The blue hedgehog had actually moved only inches and centimetres to the side or backwards at first, too fast for the naked eye to see, letting it appear as if Antoine had some trouble focusing. Then, when the slices had become wider and broader, he had switched tactics – and actually evaded them visibly, with the greatest amount of flailing and stumbling possible.

"Aaaah, no, _please_, I beg you-!" Sonic had been pleading, staggering away from his perceived executioner and to the side, twisting wildly in sheer panic and desperation. His eyes were wide and fearful, his movements clumsy and expression terrified – and Shadow wondered whether he should nominate his supposed pet for the next actor award. Because only he could see how the supposed clumsiness was actually choreographed, noticed the minute weight shifts of red-and-white sneakers when the blue hedgehog prepared his next trip-up and only for him were the lightning grins and daredevil sparkle the hero of Mobius shot his way for fractions of a second in between.

"What – is- zis- devilry-?" Antoine grated through clenched teeth as he lunged forward only to have Sonic twist sideways, recovered and went into a cut which the hedgehog evaded by pretending to fall forward and dove under the blade to stumble past the coyote, and finally, whirled around just to see the blue speedster almost tumble onto his backside but still managing to evade the whirl-wind sabre. Shadow briefly mused that this tactic would have to take even more skill to pull off, because only the _true_ masters of their art would be able to disguise their prowess when it mattered…and come to think of it, it seemed a bit like Sonic's way to live anyway; after all, who in their right mind would ever suspect the hedgehog when he was lying on his couch, eating pizza and playing videogames while cracking more than cringe-worthy jokes to be one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet at the same time? Sometimes the Ultimate Lifeform wondered whether the blue hedgehog actually did that on purpose…

But now it had come to this. As soon as his movements were too fast for the others to properly see anyway, Sonic had dropped the act and was now finally moving with the grace Shadow had encountered in fights with him so many times himself. He refrained from attacking with spin-dashes or kicks even when the other had left him an opening, but he seemed strangely at home with the situation, too…the air was flashing with the deadly silver of Antoine's sabre, sharp and precise and lethal, but Sonic always appeared to know where the blade would be exactly, was always able to dodge it, almost caress it, knowing how to touch it without coming to harm. Antoine's face was showing the frustration of someone trying to fight the wind, while Sonic's feet were moving as if the rhythm of the sword was music, and they had already mastered that dance on the edge between life and death a long time ago.

"Sonic…" Shadow whispered, for a moment lost in the display.

"I vill not tolerate zis any longer!" the coyote shouted at that point, sounding somewhat desperate, but Shadow's ears still pricked up when he heard the much quieter, almost whispered "You're right. And neither will I," from Sonic soon after. Before the black hedgehog could even realize what the other was up to, it had already happened – and Antoine's sword had finally found its mark.

"_Vot_-?"

Well. Almost.

Shadow's teacher had aimed another lunge at Sonic's face – but had been taken completely unawares when the blue hedgehog had turned his head to the side at the very last minute and the length of the blade was suddenly deeply embedded through all of Sonic's top three quills.

The hedgehog grinned. "'Prickly' situation, huh_?_"

The coyote gaped. "Mais _quoi_-?"

And then Sonic was gone. Antoine gave another cry of surprise as suddenly, the sabre was twisted out of his fingers as the collared hero then fluidly threw himself into a forward somersault, blade still firmly wedged through his spikes. Sonic didn't stop in his spin until he had rolled to the side of the field – and came to kneel right at the side of his supposed Master by uncurling in one smooth movement and ending up on his right knee as if he was supposed to be knighted now. The instructor stared at the pair, disbelieving for a moment, but _only_ a moment, because then Shadow simply reached down, removed the blade with care, and held it out to its owner with the smallest of smirks.

"I believe the term is '_Touché_'."

xxx

"I see," the middle-aged lioness replied calmly, while at the same time not looking as if she would forget having been called 'wench' any time soon. "And you, sir?"

"Miles Prower. And believe me, that name isn't nearly as much of a joke as my life currently is," Tails muttered dejectedly. His home had a gaping hole in the wall where Amy's hammer had crashed through as she had shattered Shadow's containment tank and it was still smoking. By now he was actually hoping the feline officer would offer the small mercy to have them all taken to a nice cosy cell, but of course…

"Hey! What is going on here?"

"Good morning, sir. Are you involved with these people?"

"Yeah, I'm helping take care of things here," Knuckles replied cautiously as he approached the gathering, but then his eyes narrowed and he stemmed his fists into his hip. "And you're actually showing up pretty late. You know, when I called you surface police from the flying island three days ago, you weren't _nearly_ as concerned."

"Oh, I am now," the lioness replied. "Believe me, I am now."

xxx

"Vot-? Votre Majesté! Mon sabre, 'e stole eet!"

"Yes. By now I can see where Shadow has gotten his miserable fencing skills from," Black Doom replied, apparently slightly vexed. Antoine immediately went red up to his ears.

"Zat is not 'ow it is! Zis 'ouse 'og-" ("_Now will he stop calling me that?"_ Sonic hissed) "-zis 'ouse 'og 'as been trained! 'e foresaw mes techniques! It is not possible ozerwise zat 'e was not 'armed!" the coyote protested, pointing at Sonic still crouching relaxed on one knee in the dirt next to Shadow, who held the blade of his teacher. His quills looked in disarray, but Shadow had removed the sword with enough skill so as not to hurt his supposed slave. Black Doom's eyes (all three of them) narrowed.

"Shadow, is that true? What have you been doing with that pet of yours, tell me…"

The Ultimate Lifeform shifted a bit. Sonic had been the one easily dancing his way through a situation where physical action was demanded, but now it once again came down to him and how clever he could sound for both of them…

_Maria, please, let this work. _

"Yes, father, I have been training on Sonic," he said, watching carefully how the eye ridges of the monster King rose. He continued calmly, "I felt the need to train on a live body…to let my blade taste _real _blood, too. My pet was rather ideal for the part," he explained, briefly running a hand in between Sonic's ears, the blue hedgehog appropriately flinching, "and wouldn't you know….after I had been cutting him open for a month, he's now actually learned to dodge." Shadow's upper lip curled in a cruel smile, the black hedgehog ignoring Sonic's not-so-fake shudder at the imagined horror.

"Is that so?" Black Doom asked, sounding slightly less disgruntled. "If that was the case, why did I have to witness your abominable display first, then?"

"Well, as I told you, I am still not fully recovered, father," Shadow shrugged. "I was hoping to save my energies for tonight's dinner. However, as the scars on my pet's body can assure you, my skill with the blade has not diminished – I could cut where my teacher could not."

"Hmm," Black Doom grumbled, obviously not fully convinced. "Very well. It is a good idea to use slaves as target practice, yes...maybe you're not hopeless after all. This matter is over for now, but if you dare disgrace me this evening again, the ramifications will be severe…"

"Yes, father." Shadow bowed.

"Yes, oh Lord of the broken record," Sonic intoned in a whisper next to him, but fortunately, since the Prince was supposed to be sick, the resulting small coughing fit did go rather unnoticed…

xxx

"Interesting," Shadow commented casually as the crowd had already dispersed, Black Doom and his entourage were on their way back to the throne room and even Antoine had slunk away, the two hedgehogs once more on their own after Shadow had collected and attached Sonic's leash again.

"Huh?" Sonic asked, raising an eye ridge at his supposed Master, just getting down from the adrenaline rush of the uneven fight and not quite focused yet. Greytail had taken Shadow's gear away and the two were now about to head back to their dorm for last preparations.

"You seemed quite…experienced with the way of the blade," the black hedgehog stated, at the same time rather determined not to reveal how he had fared himself. Sonic shot him a grin.

"Yeah, well, actually, it's not the first time I ended up in some medieval gig. I once saved the world of King Arthur, ya know?"

"What?"

"I was a Knight and everything. Had a talking sword named Excaliburn…wouldn't shut up, mind you, but taught me quite a few tricks on how to predict your opponent's moves." Sonic winked.

"…right." Shadow replied. It said something about how long he had been in Sonic's company that he didn't even ask anymore.

_Then again__, my last adventure involved time travel to fight my…evil shadow, or something. Maybe I should better be quiet._

"So, how were the lessons?" he asked instead.

"Uh…" here, it was Sonic who suddenly looked everywhere but at his supposed Master, not quite happy with the idea of sharing the more humiliating details. Unfortunately, somebody else only seemed too happy to do that for him.

"Ah, Prince Shadow! I was hoping I could talk to you!"

"Oh no…" Sonic groaned under his breath, but to no avail. Shadow had already stopped, thereby also forcing the collared hero to a halt who could do nothing but stay still and watch as a smiling Silver approached.

"Yes?" Shadow turned to look at the younger hedgehog, keeping his face well under control. "You were…taking care of Sonic today?"

"I was," the metallic-hued hedgehog nodded. "And I'm very glad he survived the fencing demonstration. He is a delightful specimen."

"Is he," Shadow replied in something of a dead-pan, although he almost couldn't suppress a tiny twitching of the lips as Sonic on his leash seemed as fidgety as ever, apparently really wishing to be somewhere else.

"But, my Prince, I'd just like to ask you a few questions about him…" Silver seemed to choose his words carefully, and the sharp glance from Shadow at Sonic obviously did not escape the silver hedgehog's notice, the 'what-have-you-done-_now?'_ only all to clear.

Sonic sighed, scuffing his toe against the ground, but then apparently deciding that there really only was one way to go about this.

"He knows I'm not broken, Shadow."

There was a slight intake of breath from Silver – perhaps because calling your Master by name was one thing, doing it to his face was another, Sonic suspected – but he seemed to regain his composure almost immediately.

"Yes. That was what I wanted to inquire about," Silver said, giving the pair a curious glance – Sonic, leashed and looking slightly impatient, rubbing his neck, and Shadow, his face frozen for a moment in an expression that gave nothing away, but crimson eyes burning as thoughts raced through his head.

"What of it?" Shadow asked, eyes flashing dangerously, deciding that intimidation perhaps was the best option here. Then again, how someone who had earlier made a habit of throwing barrels at him and was now smiling into his face cluelessly was supposed to be scared of him, Shadow wasn't quite sure, either…

"Well…" the silver hedgehog seemed to briefly glance to the side whether there were any people listening right now, "I was merely wondering whether that was your wish as well. Sonic said so, but I hope you understand that my professional pride demands that I verify his words with his actual owner, lest I return a pet not trained correctly." His amber eyes blinked at Shadow questioningly, the black hedgehog having to re-run the conversation in his head for a moment.

"Wait…what exactly did Sonic tell you? And you, will you _stop_ fidgeting!" Shadow hissed at his unwilling slave, who by now for some unfathomable reason seemed more uncomfortable with the situation than ever. Sonic covered his eyes with a hand, knowing that he was doomed. _He had told Silver that he wanted Shadow to…_

"Sonic said you were in love with him."

There was a decided moment of silence. Silver smiled, Sonic had frozen but was now staring wide-eyed through his fingers at the floor and Shadow…well…

"Did he, now?" Shadow asked pleasantly and for some reason, that tone scared Sonic all the more, especially when Shadow then actually _smiled_ at him. "I wasn't aware that we are so open about our relationship, my beloved pet. Tell me, what else did you tell this charming young hedgehog?" he enquired, voice actually pitched about an octave higher than his usual growl and Sonic was about to start frantically tugging at his leash in an effort to locate Antoine and run himself through with the sword to save himself a lot of suffering.

"Noth…nothing…" Sonic tried to reply, grinning nervously because _he_ could see the warning twitches and raised his hands in an attempt to calm Shadow down. He noticed Silver staring at them oddly now, realized what the psychic hedgehog had to be thinking and quickly tried to get the situation under control again.

"Silver, this isn't what it looks like. Shadow isn't going to hurt me, believe me, I told the truth."

"Um. Are you sure?" the silver-furred trainer asked, regarding the supposed Crown Prince with only the slightest suspicion. "My Prince, I didn't have your slave punished for his insubordination because he insisted it wasn't in your wishes, but if you would like me to-"

"No," Shadow cut him off bluntly, once again serious as he was sharply reminded that Sonic today probably had only evaded pain by sheer luck and a quick tongue. The black hedgehog sighed. "He did not lie to you. I don't want any harm to come to him and am quite happy with the way he is," he said, trying to hide the fury rising within him as he for a second could not help but imagine what he would likely have done to anyone who'd have dared to make Sonic feel the lash again, let those bright emerald eyes lose their lustre and fill with suffering…

"Ah. I see, then," Silver replied, perhaps only unconsciously taking a small step backwards at the sudden fierceness of Shadow's gaze. "Well, if Sonic has spoken the truth, then my mission truly is fulfilled. I beg you will enjoy him and let your satisfaction be known to your acquaintances," Silver said, giving a curt bow, before already turning around to leave, a last, small smile gracing his lips. "Perhaps I will have the chance of seeing you again at the dinner tonight. By your leave, Prince Shadow…"

The black hedgehog noticed how his highly-strung supposed slave visibly relaxed as soon as the other's back was turned.

"Well. That must have been a few _interesting_ lessons today, then," Shadow said when Silver was out of earshot, setting off again himself and leaving Sonic of course with no choice but to follow him, which the blue hedgehog by now did almost naturally.

"Uh…yeah…" Sonic replied, not quite looking at Shadow but rather twisting a bit in his restraint and studying the castle walls they were passing on their way to their dorm with a sudden newfound interest. The blue hedgehog wasn't sure whether he still had a light blush on his cheeks but he was quite certain it would return the moment he looked into his supposed Master's eyes. He hoped Shadow wouldn't bring up the conversation with Silver again. The kissing and cuddling had been one thing, but to actually say he _loved_ him…Sonic balled one fist in frustration, not knowing why that little word could make him feel so awkward, even though their actions so far should have spoken for themselves, surely?

_Chaos Dammit. Somebody slap me before I ever let myself get drawn into anything more complicated than a simple, straight forward doomsday scenario or something._

"Anything useful you learned?" Shadow enquired casually as he opened the door to their chamber, leading Sonic inside and taking off his leash, tossing the leather item onto the writing desk before stowing his fencing vest under the bed and sitting down on the mattress with an uncharacteristic sigh of weariness, leaving Sonic standing in the middle of the room. The blue hedgehog cocked his head.

"Well…actually…they taught us how to walk."

"How to _walk_?" Shadow raised an eye ridge as he looked at Sonic's form again, the blue hedgehog now seeming oddly contemplative.

"Yeah…" Sonic had trailed off, but now met his supposed Master's gaze again and there even seemed to be a little of that amused sparkle in his eyes now. He shifted his weight slightly, spreading his legs apart and tilting his hips just the tiniest bit. The grin had now turned somewhat predatory and the black eye ridge rose a tad higher, as if trying to seek refuge in Shadow's head quills. Sonic slowly started to grin, revealing shining small fangs. "But why don't you see for yourself?"

"What-?" The black hedgehog asked, but didn't continue as then Sonic walked – no, _prowled, _Shadow corrected himself mentally – toward the bed and the Ultimate Lifeform refused to admit that his mouth had just turned somewhat drier. The hero of Mobius had put one hand on his hip, trailing the other behind him and was taking slow, but determined steps toward him, never once breaking eye contact and hypnotizing the supposed Prince with his gaze as much as with his body.

The toned muscles moving beneath the silky pelt once again spoke of coiled strength, but unlike usually, when the blue speedster would have been either swaggering, rushing (or sometimes plain _bouncing_, rolled up or no) along, now his movements were just a bit more refined, more deliberate and…_elegant_…Shadow watched those blue hips roll once more and had to remember to keep his mouth shut.

Sonic himself was hard pressed not to make some snide comment at Shadow's mesmerized expression. Instead, he flicked his tail which produced some sort of strange little noise to come out of the other's throat, which worked just as well for his amusement.

"Like what you see?" Sonic asked with a cheeky grin, hoping that Shadow wouldn't notice his heart was beating a bit faster than usual, too. This was new for him as well, after all…

The blue hedgehog was moving his body in a similar way to what Silver had taught him and the other slaves, even if he had adapted it a little bit. He kept his legs slightly further apart than the shuffle he had been forced to do earlier and kept his ears pricked up, too; his quills were relaxed at the moment, since he felt at ease, but there was no way he would glue his gaze to the floor – because he didn't want to miss a blink of these crimson eyes as they stared at him for the world…

"I…" Shadow tried to reply, but found that words had once again become some rare commodity all of a sudden. He was already entranced when Sonic moved naturally, but when his supposed slave suddenly tried to act the part, Shadow found it could become just a bit too much…

Again, Sonic's grin only turned brighter as he was able to witness the obvious effect his efforts seemed to be having on the black hedgehog. He had not enjoyed being treated like a slave by Silver, but something good apparently had come out of it – after he'd been mostly overwhelmed by the other yesterday night, this new game with him taking the initiative was even more fun. He turned away just before he would have reached Shadow and instead stalked along the side of the bed until he had reached the other side. The black hedgehog had followed all of his movements with his gaze, now apparently even more confused that Sonic had moved away from him again. Emerald eyes flashed wickedly.

"And tell you what, they even taught us how to crawl…"

By now Shadow was already thinking of telling Silver that he might have done _too_ good a job.

The Ultimate Lifeform watched with wide red eyes how the hero of Mobius then actually lowered himself onto the mattress until he was on all fours, briefly – Chaos, help – _stretched_, and then started to inch himself toward his supposed owner, moving as gracefully as a feral cat.

Shadow just suspected that in that metaphor, he could very well be the feral mouse.

"Sonic…" he managed to get out, having half-twisted on the edge of the bed to keep the blue speedster approaching from behind in view, trying not to get distracted by every single subtle curve of that body stretching itself for his viewing pleasure (as well as his own rising temperature). Not quite knowing what else to do, he slowly raised a gloved hand toward the other's face…and then, just like last night, was rewarded with Sonic leaning into the touch.

Gloved fingers tentatively stroked his supposed slave's cheek, Shadow's heart briefly fluttering as he could virtually see Sonic relaxing under his treatment, quills lowering themselves even further and even those eternal perky ears drooping against their owner's head. Sonic slowly closed the last gap between them, coming to kneel next to his supposed Master without breaking the contact with Shadow's hand. He tilted his head slightly to be able to look into Shadow's eyes better.

"Wanna know what else they taught us…?" he asked, voice now barely above a whisper. Sonic himself had trouble to keep himself in check right now, could feel his blood pounding hotly in his ears, had to force his breathing to stay level as he now was only inches apart from the black hedgehog, their eyes level and equally intense.

Shadow opened his mouth only a fraction. "What else did they teach you…?"

Sonic leaned forward even more, his head now resting on Shadow's shoulder from behind and he whispered into a twitching black ear.

"Have you ever had…omelette?"

_To be continued… _

* * *

Bwahahah, I'm having fun here. XD Well, I hope you enjoyed your whopping 6000 words of a chappie, especially since the next one could be a while - but then again, with the overwhelming response to last chapter I felt like you all deserved a quick update this time. :P Summer of Sonic was fantastic, btw, I got to meet up with Skyblaze and even a couple of readers! :D Angelgotchi in particular drew me a really cute sketch, thanks! ;) Apart from that, Edinburgh Fringe festival is well worth a check-out, no matter whether you're a theatre fan or not...:P

If you read, please review? :3 (and if you don't feel like waiting for the next chapter, there's always the sonadow version of Advent of Equinox, hinthint, nudgenudge XD)


	37. Prepare To Dine!

**Chapter 37: Festivities Around The World**

"An…omelette ye be offerin'?" Shadow asked slightly disbelievingly.

"Aye," Sonic confirmed. "It be a dish mighty fine." He shifted slowly closer until his lips were all but brushing Shadow's ear. "For me Cap'n…"

"What wench would ye be, to be cookin'?" The black-furred hedgehog raised an eye ridge, amused. The insult had worked, the collared hero immediately kneeling backwards and crossing his arms.

"'tis no wench's trade to serve me Cap'n," he smirked. "But all I bin wantin' to see in honest truth was ye silly face you pulled."

"Askin' for some keelhauling, are we, me heartie?" Shadow asked pleasantly. His supposedly shanghaied ship-slave snickered, but then those emerald eyes again looked at him again and blue eye lids were lowered lasciviously.

"That be dependin' under _whose_ keel, me Cap'n…" Sonic replied huskily, ungloved peach hands lowering themselves onto taut black shoulders. Shadow could feel his heart pounding heavier in his chest as -

"CAPTAIN!"

The door of their cabin crashed into the wood as a feline stumbled through, Grey-'Cat o'nine'-tail. "_We be under attack_!"

"By Davy Jones' Locker and the Powers!" Shadow cursed, at once rising from his royal bunk, "Man the cannon! Now!" he shouted, striding out into the storm, leaving Sonic – who knew he was supposed to pretend to be the "Captain"'s personal pleasure slave and therefore stay in the cabin – suddenly alone on the bed. The blue hedgehog huffed in frustration. Man, what he wouldn't give to be home again…plus, the people in this dimension were so WEIRD! Their ship (which resembled a giant swimming castle for some reason) was _constantly_ getting attacked and the people doing it only became odder.

Sonic opened the door a bit and took a little sneak peek outside; he was actually glad he wouldn't have to partake in a nautical battle unless things got serious – faaaar too wet on deck in the blue hero's opinion. He could see Shadow standing at the railing, shouting at the other, new pirates on that strangely lamb-shaped boat that had obviously just attempted to attack them and was now lying next to their ship in the water. Sonic couldn't make out every word, but from what he understood from Shadow's yelling at the other Captain, a strange human dude in a straw hat, was that the foreign pirates had been looking for some kind of 'Piece', which Shadow declined that he possessed - but instead offered to tear him and his crew into such if they pestered him any longer. The rant had involved several 'scallywags', 'bilge rats' and something unpleasant relating to 'bung hole', but at last the other ship sailed away…and Sonic's heart did a leap as Shadow then turned straight around and walked back to the cabin. The blue whirlwind flung himself back onto the bed with super sonic speed.

"Lily-livered sons of biscuit-eaters…" the black hedgehog grumbled outside, ascending the stairs. Sonic could well understand his Captain's stress, too – this had only been the latest of several attacks, another one having involved a rather…flamboyant guy with a feather hat who had been looking for some 'juvenile, flying delinquent' (Sonic hadn't told him anything about Tails) and hadn't left until Shadow asked him whether he wanted his _other _hand turned into a hook as well - and the attack before _that_ had involved hordes of ninjas.

Sonic still wasn't sure how they had gotten aboard the ship in the middle of the ocean.

"By all me doubloons, I be swearin', the next time a squiffy dare disturb us, that scurvy dog's gunna be walkin' the plank…" Shadow grunted as he entered the cabin once more, kicking the door shut behind him and adjusting his Captain's hat again. His gaze softened somewhat when it fell onto Sonic, though. The blue hedgehog smiled. Their first attackers in this world had actually been harmless, a certain mascara-wearing pirate (who they had been able to successfully drive off by about six renditions of 'Eyo, Captain Jack'…) yet, unfortunately…

"Hey, Shadow. Ready to continue where we left off?"

"That's _Captain_ Jack Shadow."

…the Ultimate Lifeform had retained just a few annoying traits of that guy.

"Fine. Cap'n." Sonic grinned once more, rising from the bed and standing opposite the black hedgehog, broad-legged and hands on his hips, his gaze alone almost a challenge, both daring and inviting Shadow to step closer. The black-furred hedgehog did so, grabbing Sonic by his waist as he closed in, their noses touching as both Sapients could feel their breathing becoming quicker again, Shadow's hat sitting atop his head askew, but it didn't bother him…

"So, me lassie…" Shadow smirked, looking straight into Sonic's gently mocking eyes. "…you wanna see why my Roger is so jolly?"

And the hero of Mobius of course answered in the only way possible:

"Aye, Cap'n! ARRRR!"

xxx Normal story will be resumed shortly xxx This time actually where Chapter 36 left off xxx We apologize for any bouts of WTF-eritis xxx Explanations will follow xxx

**Chapter 37: ****Prepare to Dine! **

It had been about a year ago when Shadow had gotten his hands for the first time on a motorbike. Of course he'd known that it would never be able to match him in neither speed nor power, but still…he supposed it had to have had something to do with either the James Dean 'Rebel Without A Cause' movie (one of Maria's choices) or Batman: The Dark Knight (one of _his_ choices, the flick about the Mobian bat who disguised himself as a human to fight crime was still a personal favourite) he'd watched aboard the ARK as a kid. There just had been something about that image, the _freedom_ that always seemed to be connected with it that had attracted him – (not to mention the sheer, badass coolness of course). Suffice to say, he had been thrilled to finally own one, an abandoned GUN prototype of sleek, black power and chrome that had cut swathes through the ranks of Black Doom's soldiers back then.

Of course, there had also been mishaps. Shadow remembered, at the beginning, riding the thing at 200 mph through a deserted base, revelling in the power…and then accidentally changing into first gear.

It had not been pretty.

And now, when Sonic had just all but crawled on top of him and into his lap, whispering sweet nothings and spicy somethings, breathing down his neck and purring into his ear, before _then _suggesting an _egg dish,_ Shadow thought he knew *exactly* how the engine must have felt.

"Wh-what?" he croaked. Next to him, his supposed slave was now of course already helplessly laughing, still kneeling on the bed but supporting himself with one hand braced against the mattress.

"Awesome. You should have _seen_ your face!"

Shadow gave his amused pet a dry look, briefly contemplating how Sonic would have been likely to fare if he wasn't wearing that collar for show but for real and he would have had an owner who would let him feel the lash the first time he tried a prank like this. Oh, how tempting it would be to wish for a submissive slave _without_ the sense of humour of a deranged clown…

The Ultimate Lifeform shook his head with a sigh. Truly dominating Sonic would probably be as viable as trying to 'dominate' a sack of feral fleas. You could certainly _break_ him, of course, over time and with cruelty, but the result would be an empty shell with eyes the colour of dead leaves, not Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of their homeworld, fastest thing alive, and the one Mobian with a shining emerald gaze that could always let Shadow feel as if the whole world was suddenly not as dark as it had been a moment before. The black hedgehog was almost tempted to smile again as he looked down onto where Sonic had now stretched out on the bed beside him, still grinning at his little joke. No. He was happy with things as they were, even if Sonic's submission had only ever been play and not real…his face still impassive, he poked his supposed slave rather forcefully into his stomach.

"You. Are you begging for more punishment?" he asked as the younger hedgehog yelped and scrambled into a sitting position again. "I do not appreciate being made bogus offers."

"Wasn't a bogus offer, faker," Sonic replied, poking his tongue out before winking, "But if ya don't fancy eating before daddy's dinner, I did also learn something else…"

"Oh yeah?" Shadow asked, raising an eye ridge and looking skeptical. He wasn't falling for that same trick twice. "What'd he teach you next, how to play croquet?"

"With hedgehogs for balls and flamingos for bats, yeah," Sonic laughed, before cocking his head, suddenly looking contemplative for a moment and putting a finger to his pursed lips. "Mind you, I always found that movie pretty racist as a kid. And that wasn't just because Mighty wanted to use me as prop in a re-enactment of that scene. But what I _wanted_ to say," he said, again changing topics like a whirlwind direction and ignoring his supposed Master's deadpan stare, "I really did learn something nice. Here, lemme show you…"

Shadow's eyes briefly narrowed as Sonic then quickly crawled behind him again, settling himself in a position behind his back and he could feel bare, peach-furred fingers wrapping around his shoulders. He tried to turn his head.

"What-?"

"Keep looking forwards, or else you're gonna impale me with your quills, 'kay? Just relax, Silver already tried this on me…"

Shadow didn't have time to say anything else, because then, Sonic's hands already went to work. The Ultimate Lifeform sucked in his breath rather sharply as the blue hedgehog's fingers dug into his back without warning, making Shadow at first want to whirl around and escape the unexpected treatment as the first sharp pain struck and he cringed and tensed up, bad memories of worse people resurfacing. "What…are you…?"

"Shh…it's gonna be alright, you'll see…" Sonic murmured reassuringly, skilled hands not stopping in their work and suddenly it seemed to Shadow as if the pain was gone from one second to the next, replaced by a wonderful feeling of relaxation and lightness. Crimson eyes blinked open again, slightly disbelieving.

"You're…giving me a massage…"

"So I am," Sonic replied behind him and Shadow could almost _hear_ the grin of his supposed slave. "It does feel good after a week of running and fighting, I tell ya…"

Shadow didn't reply, but the collared hero was still pretty sure he agreed, if the total lack of resistance afterwards was anything to go by. For Sonic, it was actually a pretty demanding task, since the Ultimate Lifeform's muscles were far tougher and way more cramped than the young telekinetic hedgehog's had been, the blue hero vaguely remembering something Shadow had once said about his muscles being denser and therefore more powerful. But the blue speedster's fingers had been strengthened by many years of hanging off ledges and/or climbing up high buildings that their crazy owner had maneuvered them onto, so that wasn't a problem. Sonic in response simply dug his fingertips deeper into those sensitive spots Silver had made him feel on his own back in the lesson and was rewarded with Shadow basically turning into a black-furred silly putty in his hands. His supposed owner was both wincing in pain and sighing in relief beneath him, red-striped quills flattening themselves for once as an instinctive reaction to both feelings, giving Sonic even more access. The collared hero grinned as he ran his bare hands through the black fur of his pretend Master, reveling in the buzz of being allowed to be so close, dressed as a slave or no. Shadow felt warm underneath his hands and there even was a bit of a tingle where he touched him, the Ultimate Lifeform feeling just a little like a Chaos Emerald or a Power Ring to Sonic's heightened Chaos senses and the blue hedgehog for a moment just couldn't help but wonder how it would actually feel if Shadow decided to…

He didn't finish that thought.

_Chaos. It's like my mind is unable to focus on anything *but* that. Thanks, Silver, _the hero of Mobius thought dryly, clawing into the black hedgehog's back even more forcefully for a moment to get rid of the current mental image.

Unbeknownst to Shadow, of course, for the Ultimate Lifeform was currently suspended in a warm tub of utter bliss. He didn't squirm under the treatment like he supposed Sonic would have done, but he couldn't help the odd sigh escaping from his lips, either. The combination of torture and soothing of the massage was one of the most relaxing things he'd experienced in his life so far, and if he could have, he would have liked to keep the blue speedster continuing forever. Those bare fingers, Sonic's gloves taken from him long ago, roamed over his back and sent shivers down his spine, letting him gnash his teeth and smother groans of pleasure trying to force their way up his throat. Sonic's hand suddenly caressed his neck and Shadow's eyes flew open again, the touch sending a hot jolt right down through his system. He simply couldn't take this anymore, feeling as if any second now, he'd have to simply turn around, tackle the blue hedgehog on the bed and force him beneath him, and then Heaven help Sonic if he tried to resist…

"My Prince? We've come to assist you in the preparations for the evening! May we enter?"

"What?" Shadow blinked, slowly tearing himself away from his fantasies and raising his head toward the door where a knocking had interrupted the two hedgehogs. Behind him, Sonic groaned, slumping back onto his heels, quite unawares of what he had just narrowly escaped from.

"Man, don't they ever leave you alone? It's like you're the single entertainment of this castle's serving staff…" he complained, before adding: "And by rights, title of entertainer belongs to _me_. Liked your massage?" he finally asked, poking his head around Shadow's shoulder from behind to give his supposed Master a cheeky grin. Shadow nodded slowly.

"…very. Thank you."

Emerald eyes seemed to light up at this, as if for some reason that simple thank you had actually meant quite a bit to the collared hedgehog, but Shadow had no time to say anything else. The knocking came again, and the supposed Prince raised himself with a scowl of resignation.

"Yes, come in. I hope you can make this quick," he said as the door opened and two females he hadn't seen before walked in. They weren't wearing any collars which designated them servants rather than slaves, but they still seemed to differ radically in status. The one walking in front was a tall and wiry feline, her fur white as if bleached and eyes cattishly yellow with ice blue irises. She wore a long, dark purple dress bordering on black with gold-rimmed wide sleeves and décolleté. Her wrists and large, bat-like ears were adorned with metal jewellery rings and her stiff, upright posture as well as glaring gaze gave her the aura of a queen in her own domain, but not of a monarch that knew the meaning of mercy. The prime of her years seemed to have passed a long time ago and a face that could have been called beautiful before now looked more like that of a disdaining huntress, bitterness having replaced the flower of youth. She gave Sonic on the bed a stare of distaste and it took a lot for the collared hero not to let his general 'Oh, _brother_' – mood show on his face.

Behind her shuffled the rather polar opposite, an elderly light brown squirrel lady, whose dress was made from much plainer and rougher cloth, frayed at the edges and the deep blue and red colours faded where it was draped over her slightly pudgy frame. It wasn't dragging on the floor like her predecessor's, but stopped somewhere around the ankles, revealing paw-like feet in battered sandals. She squinted a bit, as short-sighted people in an age before glasses are wont to do, but her sky blue eyes still hinted at kindness rather than calculation and now she looked around the Prince's chambers with a bit of trepidation and a stoop to her posture, looking like she had never been to a room of such a high-ranking noble ever before. Her eyes finally came to rest on Sonic (who was also regarding the newcomers curiously) and she seemed to first nod, then shake her head to herself with an almost regretful sigh, leaving the blue hedgehog puzzled as to what that could have meant. He wasn't such a disappointing sight, surely?

"Please have no concerns, my Prince. We shall have both you and your pet prepared with the highest efficiency," the cat spoke with a curtsy but not with warmth, before snipping her claws at the older squirrel. "Rosie. Bring the utensils inside and then take care of the bed slave. I am right in presuming he is the one supposed to accompany you tonight, am I not?" she asked, focusing her gaze on Shadow, who actually had to look up to meet her stare. Shadow nodded. "Yes. So you will…polish him up?" he questioned, ignoring the look of dread that had suddenly entered his supposed slave's eyes. The feline nodded.

"Rosie will. As for me, my Prince, I shall take care of _you_."

At this moment the squirrel waddled inside again, carrying two baskets that were obviously quite heavy for her and finally putting them down in the room. "Your items, Mistress Hathor," she said demurely, at the same time rolling up her sleeves. "Do you wish me to begin immediately?"

"Yes, do so," the cat called Hathor waved her off, instead rounding on the black-furred hedgehog again. "Now, my Prince, please sit down so we can start…"

Sonic breathed a small sigh of relief. At least he seemed to be getting the _nice_ one for once. He shot a brief glance at Shadow cornered by the tall feline, but wasn't particularly worried. As Prince, the other would at least be able to voice his objections, whereas for _him_, Sonic had thought that as a small, furry collared pet he would have actually preferred to be handed over to Cruella DeVil before letting this Hathor dame get her paws on him.

"Hello there," the elderly squirrel said at this point, letting the enslaved hero's attention snap back toward her. She was shuffling over to the bed, carrying a smaller, somewhat dusty bag over her arm. "Don't be afraid, this isn't going to hurt you," she said, giving him at the same time a look that clearly contained sympathetic pity, which Sonic wasn't quite sure how to deal with, having seldom been at the receiving end of such feelings before. Instead, he made do with a simple nod and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed to presumably get up for her. The squirrel took this as a cue to look over at Shadow, who had just lowered himself into the writing desk chair, while Hathor was now getting busy with the baskets.

"My Prince, is he allowed to leave the bed?"

"Hm? Yes, he is," the black hedgehog replied with a frown. Sonic meanwhile shuddered at the idea of some Masters perhaps truly confining their slaves to the bed and nowhere else…

"That is kind of you," the squirrel said with an incline of her head, while the white cat took that as a cue to shoot her subordinate a stern look.

"Rosie. It is not your place to judge the Prince's decisions concerning how he handles his property. We've talked about this."

"Yes, Mistress Hathor," the squirrel replied automatically, by now already turning around to Sonic again. She reached into her bag and took out a thin, brown blanket that she spread in front of the bed. "Get down onto that," she instructed Sonic. "I have to clean you first and you wouldn't want your Master's bed to get dirty, would you?"

Shadow could almost _hear_ Sonic's thoughts here.

Nevertheless, the collared hedgehog for the moment only slipped off the bed's edge and stepped onto the blanket. Sonic wasn't exactly looking forward to whatever came next, but as long as it wouldn't involve water…

"Lower yourself onto all fours," Rosie told him next – before reaching into the bag and extracting a curry comb. Made from wood.

Next, of course, Shadow could already have head-desked.

"What the hell, I'm not a _horse_!"

xxx

"So…you are 'Prince' Shadow, the son of the 'King' and this is your personal 'slave', Sonic. Is that correct?"

"I haven't yet officially given him his name, but yes, otherwise this is the truth. I am glad one of you commoners at least seems to listen."

"…right," Ebony replied very matter-of-factly, the black-furred feline wearing a purple dress not able to recall whether she ever had to use so many verbal quotation marks when dealing with a patient before. As police psychologist, she had been called into the office only a while ago – but she _hadn't _expected to have to deal with world-reknowned hero Sonic the Hedgehog, who, even for her standards, seemed to have 'lost his marbles completely'. She tried to address him, though.

"So…Sonic, then. What Shadow says is correct?"

The blue hedgehog didn't answer, just clung to the other's leg a bit tighter. Shadow and Ebony both sat in comfortable plushy chairs, but Sonic for some reason had chosen to remain kneeling on the floor.

Shadow sighed in annoyance. "He isn't allowed to talk without permission. And, you've failed to use my correct title, again." He raised an eye ridge. "Honestly, you don't seem to be very bright."

Ebony _slowly_ counted to ten in her head.

"Very well. _Prince _Shadow, I need to be able to talk with both of you if we are to make any progress. Otherwise I have to talk to Sonic alone if you chose to remain obstructive."

The black hedgehog's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't do that in your position."

The feline sighed. The problem with patients believing themselves to be royalty mostly was that when you asked them 'You and _whose_ army?' they usually just pointed out the window.

"Separate me and Sonic and my father's soldiers will have your village erased from the earth and your head displayed on a spike."

_Hoo, boy_…

xxx

"Your slave _talks_ without permission, my Prince?" Hathor raised an eye ridge in disdain and Shadow's eyes blazed.

"Not for long, he won't," he replied, rising out of his chair and striding over to a now surprised-looking Sonic on the floor. Emerald eyes stared at him questioningly from where the blue hedgehog was kneeling on the mat, not at all sure what his supposed Master was up to now, and then, before Sonic even had time to think about resisting, Shadow had already grabbed him by the collar, forced him forward onto all fours, and three stinging smacks had landed on his behind. If Shadow had been able to capture Sonic's face on a camera that very moment, it would have been priceless.

"There. That should have taught him," Shadow said as calmly as ever to the squirrel who had covered her face in shock at the punishment (and who probably had even expected something worse) and ignored the satisfied, cool nod from the feline in the background. Sonic, who had just about recovered from the fact that he had just actually been _spanked, _twisted his head in the collar Shadow still held him on.

"…I'm going to _kill_ you."

"Act like a slave and I don't have to treat you like one," Shadow replied in the same whispered tone without emotion, before his lips twisted into an ever so subtle smirk. "And I'd look forward to that." He raised himself again to stalk back to his seat, but not without giving a last, slightly proprietorial pat to the (now slightly tender) cheeks of the other. The Ultimate Lifeform believed he could almost _hear _the collared hero grinding his teeth as he walked away.

As he seated himself in his chair again, he could see that the maid called Rosie had already crouched down at Sonic's side again, apparently muttering a few soothing words to calm his 'upset' slave. The fact that Sonic was presumably already plotting terrible vengeance in his head was something she probably didn't need to know. Shadow put his feet up on the desk, absolutely content with letting the feline groom his fur with the most delicate of brushes and watch Sonic having to squirm in silence some more.

xxx

The hero of Mobius at the moment was _not_ happy. He was still crouching on the mat on his hands and knees and now had to endure the squirrel rubbing him down with the curry as if he was about to be saddled up during the next few minutes, so Shadow could ride into the ballroom on his noble 'hog or something. Sonic groaned quietly. Also, his behind now actually stung a little, the Ultimate Lifeform's slaps, while far from cruel, having been forceful enough to produce a satisfying smacking sound and a little throbbing reminder until this procedure was finished, presumably. Of course, Sonic was well aware that Shadow hadn't wanted to hurt him – if that had been the case, he probably would have used the crop, which Sonic had had the displeasure to feel too often since he'd become a slave in this dimension – but only wanted to bruise his ego a little, since he knew that that was more effective on the stubborn blue hedgehog by far.

Sonic had been staring with an unfocused gaze at the wall as his mind mulled over the injustice done to him – and tried to suppress the very light blush it had also produced, the feel of Shadow's hand on his behind not having helped in that department – when the curry comb was suddenly dragged over his very sensitive side and his head snapped up with wide eyes before the hero of Mobius was forced to dig his fingers into the mat, bare his teeth and bite his lower lip, because of course she was now going to clean the most ticklish spot of them all. Sonic could almost _feel_ Shadow's smirking gaze on his body as he tried his hardest not to gasp or to wriggle as the cleaning tool danced over his flanks, and, eyes squeezed shut, _swore_ he wouldn't let Shadow get away with this.

_If we ever make it to this dinner, Shads, I __*will* make it a date to die for. _

xxx

Shadow the Hedgehog was leaning back in his seat and enjoying the show. Of course, he was far from harbouring sadistic or malevolent feelings for the other hedgehog, and if the female squirrel had actually done anything to cause Sonic real pain or discomfort, he would not only have put a stop to it but also would have been wearing a fur stola as accessory for the dinner.

However, the elderly servant called Rosie actually seemed to be quite gentle with him…right now she had exchanged the curry comb for a dandy brush and was using it to clean Sonic's headfur while the collared hero had sat back upon his heels again and was enduring the treatment in silence. The squirrel female was stroking him now akin a scared feral animal as she went over his left ear, the blue triangular appendage stubbornly flicking upwards again each time the brush forced it down. Sonic's eye on that side was squeezed shut in an instinctive protective reaction, the right one watching his caretaker with a bit of wariness and a bit of a contemplative pout on the blue hedgehog's face, as if the supposed pet hadn't yet quite made up his mind what to think of the procedure. Again, he squirmed a bit as she brushed over his stomach – both Sonic and Shadow noted with relief that Rosie apparently had quite a bit more sense of tact than the rest of the castle employees and left Sonic's more private areas alone – and Shadow couldn't help but notice that so far, he had been the only one whose touch hadn't made Sonic cringe, but was actually actively sought and leaned into when offered. A small smile had almost stolen upon his features, had not Hathor at this moment finished her brushing and dusting of his fur and made a remark upon his wardrobe.

"Are you not planning on taking your…jewellery off for the night, my Prince?"

Shadow turned around in his chair and Sonic looked over at the cat as well. Shadow frowned, at the same time unconsciously grasping the power ring on his left wrist with his right hand.

"No. Why should I?"

The feline's tone was neutral when she spoke again, but there was nevertheless a hint of disdain snaking through her words.

"It might seem a bit more…suggestive of a banded pet than a noble. No disrespect intended, my Prince."

"Let that be up to my judgement," Shadow replied coldly, yet there also was a faint aura of warning. The female seemed to take the hint.

"Certainly, my Prince. I will now file and polish your quills, if I may."

Shadow merely turned around again, meeting with the slightly curious stare of Sonic, while Hathor behind him seemed to bend down and extract various metal tools that she was about to apply to the black spines on his back. Shadow wasn't particularly worried – the feeling he had in them was comparable to the feeling a human had in their hair. Now the squirrel seemed to address him, though.

"May I remove your slave's clothing, my Prince? I need to clip his nails."

"...he can do that on his own," Shadow replied with some retardation (and having caught a glance of Sonic, who was frantically shaking his head in the background), but a polite cough from behind him cut him off.

"My Prince. I know slaves sometimes appear to be somewhat intelligent, but let me assure you, they are not. They cannot even care for themselves, let alone wield any tools. It would be best if you let Rosie take care of this."

"It is for the best, my Prince," the squirrel agreed demurely. "Bed slaves often have very overgrown nails on account of being confined to the room and not being able to walk or run, so in doing this you can avoid further injury to him."

Shadow raised an eye ridge. Declaring that Sonic hadn't been able to run enough was tantamount to saying a puppy in a wheelchair wasn't cute enough. Of course, he was under no illusions that their one day out in the city and the couple of times he had taken Sonic around the castle or for a walk in the park (or the occasions where Sonic had simply run away to go exploring) were anywhere close enough to satisfy the urge for freedom and movement his collared hedgehog harboured, but Rosie couldn't know that – and by now Shadow was imagining to pick up just that slightest hint of resentment from her towards him. His eyes narrowed.

"Very well. But don't hurt him or cut his feet."

Sonic shot a look of despair at him as Rosie turned back to resume her work, moving Shadow enough to add "Oh, and let him hold on to his shoes – he gets scared otherwise."

Sonic's gaze changed from dismay into a 'Har Har'-version instantly, accompanied by a simple "Of course" from Rosie and a slightly disapproving _tsk_ from Hathor. Shadow watched as Sonic reluctantly had to sit back on his behind as Rosie lifted his legs and pulled off first his shoes, then his socks; she gave the former to Sonic to hold as promised (after subjecting the anachronistic sneakers to a slightly curious look, anyway) and discarded the grey, lumpy woollen socks behind her. Sonic long ago had had to exchange his white cotton ones for a medieval substitute, since with his constant shoe-wearing habit a pair rarely stayed fresh for longer than a day. Shadow was luckier in that respect since he didn't actually wear any; the jets embedded in his hover skates were powered by the Chaos Energy he kept and channelled through his body, and the receptor plate in his skate worked best with direct skin contact. Which of course had meant that Sonic had been able to wear the socks meant for the Prince – yet that still hadn't spared him from now having his feet exposed and in Rosie's hands, a fact that obviously made the blue speedster more than uncomfortable. The squirrel raised an eye ridge as she looked at the toned and well-muscled blue-furred foot, apparently not quite having expected what she found. Shadow thought he could recognize a little smile on her face.

"They haven't crippled you or burned you across the soles…that was nice of them, you're very lucky."

The words had been a whisper, as evidently Hathor hadn't even picked them up, but Shadow's artificially engineered ears had heard them well enough, as apparently had Sonic, who now regarded the female servant with a bit of surprise. Next, though, she reached for her pair of scissors and shifted her grip from his ankle across the underside of the blue hedgehog's foot and Shadow was once again treated to the sight of his pet deliciously arching his back and cramping his toes up, his feet obviously even more ticklish than the his sides.

_Sorry, Sonic. Can't help you there, _Shadow thought with some amusement while behind him, Hathor was busy filing away at the tips of his headquills and polishing the blade-like spikes with a cloth drenched in some sort of fragrant oil, Shadow's reflection in the mirror looking sleek and shiny.

Sometimes, being a prince was the _life._

Xxx

_I hate him…I hate him…I hate...oh gods, not THERE!_

Sonic had thrown his head back as his hands clawed desperately into the carpet beneath his fingers, the hedgehog panting as blue toes wriggled futilely in his keeper's grasp, every movement of her hands on his sensitive soles making him want to kick loose and escape this torture. The hero of Mobius could feel sweat already breaking underneath the fur that had so laboriously been groomed over the last half an hour, including Rosie making a valiant attempt at straightening out the quills that had been mussed up from Antoine poking a blade through them. Usually the blue speedster kept his spikes straight through simple spinning in the air during homing attacks and the like, the centrifugal force of his high-powered spins enough to get them back into their aerodynamic shape, but he hadn't been able to do that since he got here, and as a result, they had been a pretty good mess by now.

Rosie shifted her grip again to proceed with her work and Sonic nearly bit his tongue in an effort to hold still. This entire day had consisted of people trying to touch him where he didn't want them to and/or trying to kill him, and while Sonic preferred the latter, neither of the experiences had been particularly pleasurable. The collared hero watched with a resigned and unhappy expression and drooping ears how Rosie finally clipped off the last of his nails (that _weren't_ overgrown, thankyouverymuch) and he was allowed to put his foot down again as she retrieved a fresh pair of socks to put on him as well as his beloved sneakers.

He spotted Shadow looking at him with a kind of worrying interest and Sonic made a mental note that while he might permit the black hedgehog to…do certain things to him in the future, he'd make it a firm point that his sneakers stayed _on_. Now that Shadow knew where and how Sonic was as easily to push to breaking point as a kitten suspended above a bathtub (actually, that would suffice in his case, too….) he had no intention on giving the black hedgehog the chance to repeat his former 'punishment' when Sonic had pounced on him two days ago.

"Where are his items, my Prince?" Rosie asked at this point and Shadow indicated the drawer where Sonic had shoved the accessories bought in the city upon first arriving home and getting rid of them. The mood of the blue hedgehog darkened further. He had hoped not to have to wear them again; they made him feel even more restrained than he already was. Sonic sighed. At least he was able to take himself not quite that seriously, which was why he had been able to play this ridiculous charade in the first place. He snorted.

_Yeah, Shads. Would like to see *you* in my place._

Rosie returned with the bands and belt again, but fortunately had left the more…intrusive…items as well as the muzzles the other Prince had previously bought in the drawer straight away. She beckoned Sonic to stand up and fastened the bracelet around his biceps and the two cuffs around his ankles as well as the pair around his upper thighs. Next was the belt around his waist, at which he winced when she tightened it to the same level Shadow had previously – which was just enough to be uncomfortable. Sonic was glad he would be able to loosen it as soon as the females were out of the room, but then the squirrel actually surprised him by giving him another sympathetic smile and doing so herself. "There, there," she said quietly, running a hand through his head fur like he often had with Tails. Blue ears twitched in curiosity, as emerald eyes met the aged gaze of hers, an unexpected gratefulness in them. "I wish you wouldn't have to endure this fate, poor thing," she whispered, still petting the hedgehog slightly taller than her, "Let's make you at least as comfortable as your Master permits."

"Uh…thank you," Sonic replied sincerely, glad that there actually were nice people around in this place. She looked up with a bit of a start, blinked at the hedgehog regarding her quizzically for a moment, and then at last broke into a wide genuine smile, showing off her rodent front teeth.

"Oh, that's nice, you are _polite_," she breathed, before then bending down to her bag again. "For such a nice pet like you, I think I even have got a special treat…"

Sonic's ears perked involuntarily up at this. He highly hoped this treat was edible since he hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday lunch, even if he was at the same time just a tiny bit annoyed that his unconscious was actually starting to let him react like a genuine slave – how long until he would roll over and beg when Shadow asked him to?

"I know that you are not allowed to own anything, but I hope your Master may let you keep this. I think it is perfect for you."

And then his eyes grew wide and wider as the squirrel pulled out the very long and very red item that was supposed to be his 'treat'.

xxx

Shadow, meanwhile, had had perfume dabbed behind both twitching black ears, sensitive nose crinkling at the too strong smell and had then been hustled behind a Chinese-looking folding screen Hathor had extracted from behind the chest of drawers. On it were several staring and possibly deranged feral pandas depicted and Shadow had the tiniest inkling that they were all secretly laughing at him as he was struggling into the garments given to him.

"Is all of this really necessary?" he asked, even though he knew the question was futile.

"You are the Prince, my Prince. Of course you have to appear your best for the ball. May I have a look?" the feline asked, to which Shadow grunted his assent without really caring. He wasn't entirely sure why the screen was even _necessary_ in the first place. The white-furred cat stepped around the contraption and gave him a long look, but was apparently very pleased with what she saw.

"Verrry well, my Prince," she purred, "These are the clothes of a true heir to the throne. I do believe we have finished our work here."

"Indeed. Thank you, then," Shadow replied, relieved that this was to be the end of it. "You and Rosie may go now. Take the evening off if you want to."

"Too kind, my Prince. Come, Rosie," Hathor called to the squirrel behind her, who Shadow could hear picking up the baskets and uttering a quiet, but respectful good-bye to him. So far, the Ultimate Lifeform was still busy looking at himself in the mirror and trying to decide what he thought of the get-up. The door fell into the lock as the two servants had departed, and the Ultimate Lifeform took that as his cue to emerge from behind the screen himself and let Sonic have a look at him. And then he stared.

xxx

Sonic took a double-take. Shadow was not only dressed to kill, due to the brushing and cleaning of his fur he looked also as smooth as James Bond out for a Casino night (and one that wouldn't include a tour of the sewers after losing all of his rings, too). He was wearing a cape now, heavy in lush red velvet and fastened to his left shoulder by a golden plate reminiscent of an ancient commander's armour. His legs were clad in red and black gaiters secured with a buckle that made him appear like he was wearing boots and wound around his waist was another belt from which an ornamental silver sabre hung, the trademark of nobles throughout the ages. On his head perched a crown – a diadem, placed between the two ears and divided into three jags. It was a strange combination of gold and corroded black metal, as if it had once been bright and shiny but had been overtaken by something darker as the years went on. There was a tribal-like spiral design etched into it, the same that Sonic knew was on his collar.

All in all, the blue hedgehog had to admit he _liked_ what he saw…right until Shadow's sudden stone-faced expression and slowly rising eye ridge fiercely reminded the hero of what he was currently wearing.

"Nice ribbon, faker."

"…shut up."

Sonic couldn't fight the heat rising into his cheeks, which also unfortunately complimented the large, red ribbon tied around the side of his neck rather nicely, he thought surly. Emerald eyes looked away quickly, the hero of Mobius crossing his arms and refusing to make eye contact.

"I hope you know I'm not planning to wear that."

"I was hoping you wouldn't," Shadow replied conversationally, trying to suppress his amusement but failing slightly. "It doesn't match your other items at all."

"Thanks," Sonic muttered dryly, freshly cleaned peach fingers already digging into the knot that forced the garment around his neck and tugging it loose. Underneath it was still the collar, but at least he had gotten used to that by now.

"Also, of course, I wasn't planning on showing up at dinner accompanied by the Easter Bunny."

At which point, of course, the ribbon was flung at Shadow's face.

xxx

"Tell me a bit about your life, Sonic. Have you always been a…slave?"

"Yes, you can answer her," Shadow said reluctantly as the blue hedgehog questioningly looked up at him. "You remember about your previous life, don't you?"

The hedgehog on the floor nodded. "Yes…" he said, not raising his gaze from his own bare feet. "I was a…Wild. I lived in a…village, and then on my own before the slavers came and caught me."

"Hm-hmm," Ebony said and jotted something down in her notebook. "What was the name of this village, Sonic?"

"…" There was a pause, and again the younger, dishevelled-looking hedgehog looked up at the black one, this time as if for re-assurance. "…I was caught on Christmas Island…"

"So Shadow said beforehand," Ebony replied. "But what was the name of your _village_, Sonic?"

"I…" the blue hedgehog hesitated. "…it didn't have a name…"

"What were the names of your parents? Your friends?"

"I, I don't know –"

"You're scaring him! Stop it at once, I won't allow it!" Shadow barked at this point, rising from his chair and while Sonic on the floor was looking ever more distressed. Tails and Knuckles were watching the proceedings in the room through a one-way mirror with concern etched on their faces. The echidna looked down at the younger fox.

"Does Sonic even _remember_ his parents?" he asked. Tails shook his head.

"No. They died when he was barely a year old. But he knows his dad was called Jules, he told me. And while where he grew up might not have had a proper _name_, he usually refers to it as 'Green Hill Zone village' since it was the only one there."

Knuckles frowned. "So…he isn't only delusional, he also suffers from amnesia? Is Shadow contagious?"

Tails shook his head again. "No. I can read my big brother's face like a book and I know how he looks when he has forgotten something. But he hasn't." The little fox turned a confused frown toward the Guardian. "Knuckles, for some reason, he is _lying_."

xxx

"Right. Ready to go?" Sonic asked Shadow, who was just adjusting his new cloak a bit. "And don't think I'm not gonna get you back for those slaps, by the way."

The black hedgehog seemed non-impressed. "There were people in the room and I had to punish you. Be glad I was able to think of a non-painful way at the time."

"Non-painful. Yeah, right," Sonic retorted sarcastically, rubbing his rear-end in mock anger. "I hope you know my revenge will be terrible."

"Don't. This is important and I'm looking forward to this dinner if only because the day so far has been a total waste of time."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Sonic replied, casually handing Shadow his new (gold-fibred) leash that Hathor had left and turning his head aside so the black hedgehog could hook it in. His supposed Master raised an eye ridge.

"Oh yeah? Why? Did you enjoy your slave lessons so much?"

"No, not because of that," Sonic waved him off, ignoring the customary tug at his neck with which Shadow usually checked whether he had attached the lead correctly, "It's because we've now got proof that not everybody in this world is a total screwed-up psycho."

"And the _sane_ Sonic the Hedgehog came to that conclusion because…?"

"Think about it, Shadow. Silver was kinda nice to me and actually lets slaves talk and reason with him. And just now Rosie, she clearly wanted the suffering of all the poor people here to end!"

"Yes. But you're also forgetting that it was in this kingdom that people tried to gangbang you in the corridor. Twice," Shadow pointed out dryly, of course ever the Mr Reality Check. He briefly wondered whether it was that tactful to remind somebody that people recently tried to rape him, but then dismissed that notion. One thing he appreciated about Sonic at times was that the blue hedgehog placed equally minute importance on that insanely complicated set of social rules and etiquette that Shadow had never quite managed to figure out himself.

"Yeah, believe me, am not gonna forget _that_ any time soon," Sonic replied, his expression hardening even if he didn't seem disgruntled with Shadow for bringing the point up. "But the important thing is there's _hope_, Shadow. You said that even if we defeated Black Doom it might just end up worse. I don't think so anymore. There's obviously a lot of people unhappy here with the slavery – maybe even that D'Coolette guy - and right now we can help them _change_ things."

Shadow was quiet for a moment, just staring into the for once serious gaze of his supposed slave, emerald eyes dark, but burning as if there was a fire deep inside them, buried too far from the surface to be ever extinguished. This was Sonic the Hedgehog, he thought. He had been enslaved, abused, chained up, whipped, groped, humiliated and even been nearly killed and tortured at the hands of these people and he was still doing his damndest to save them. Shadow sighed.

_Whoever said life was easy if you have a hero for a boyfriend?_

"Spare me. I see your point," he said, cutting Sonic off before the other would think that Shadow needed another 'Come to the light side! We have a dental plan!'-speech. Unfortunately, Sonic was _full_ of these. But then of course, this bright and shining, indomitable innocence was why he loved him…

"You're still gonna wear your power rings?" Sonic asked in a sudden topic change with a sideways glance as they were both heading out the door soon after, Sonic following docilely on his new accessory.

"Yes," Shadow replied. "I can't actually take them off that easily, and also…" he pressed his lips together for a moment, before he continued. "…I need them." When Sonic looked at him questioningly, he elaborated, "They help me to control and store the Chaos Energy in my body. It requires a lot of effort otherwise and the way this week has been going…" he trailed off, lapsing into silence as he didn't want to actually admit that next part aloud. He looked up in surprise as suddenly, a bare hand had found its way onto his shoulder, stopping him and then he found that Sonic's face was all at once quite close to his.

"You have been exerting yourself quite a lot recently, haven't you?" Sonic asked, serious for once. Shadow had given up all of his food for him, had had barely a full night's sleep since they had come here, had instinctively defended Sonic against Drago with a Chaos Spear without an Emerald…if Sonic had tried to do all that (or, indeed, if Shadow had really starved him, like he had claimed he would at the beginning of the week) the hero of Mobius would barely be able to walk now.

The black hedgehog looked aside. "Well…"

Sonic grasped his chin lightly and kissed him. "Thank you, Shadow." And before the Ultimate Lifeform could fully recover, the hero of Mobius was already grinning again. "So, tell you what, how about you truly _stuff_ yourself at this dinner before we snatch the Emerald? I mean, since I'm kinda lacking the time to actually make that omelette I promised you…"

A small smile flitted across tan lips. "I will. And I can always take you up on your offer later, I suppose…"

"With pleasure," Sonic winked – and then they turned the corner and the toad in uniform, who was apparently also the announcer of the evening opened the door to the Throne Room and banged his staff on the floor.

"_Honoured Lords and Ladies, Prince Shadow has arrived!" _

To be continued…

* * *

Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day, Everyone! :D :D :D *gets viciously mauled* I'm sorry, I'm sorry, yet another random silly joke when it was just AFD a few chappies ago - but it's the last one for this year, I promise. XD But ITLPD is way cool, so I thought I should give it a little feature. It's celebrated on Sep 19th, (which is already the date over here on posting...) so have fun tomorrow, by greeting friends, co-workers (and random bystanders - even more fun) with a friendly ARRRR! on your way. Seriously, it's a real thing. Shiver those timbers. Also, if any of you should think that Captain Jack Shadow is the best thing since jars of dirt, I recommend the SatSR adaption on my other account, where he actually shows up AND makes sense in context. :P (/shameless plug)

Also, longest thing I have ever posted this chappie. Even without the pirate nonsense. Just for you :3 Not much happened this time, but I hope you found it cute AND I can promise - next chapter's going to "rock" - which is an awful pun atm, which I hope you will have forgotten by the time you read the next installment and this sad joke will actually make sense to you.

Third, awesome new FANART! And I mean awesome. I won a contest and SegaMew drew me a prize of this fic - it's the de-quilling scene, featuring one of the fluffiest Sonics I've ever set eyes on. Please check it out, link on my profile! :D

Lastly, no idea about the new update. Am flying to Nice in a coupla hours and am not entirely sure about internet connections there - am also nervous about being surrounded by scary french people. Gotta practice this 'parlais' - thing...

So, hope you liked and if you read, please review?^^


	38. Dinner for Schmucks

**Chapter 38: Dinner for Schmucks**

The throne room had never seemed as big as when filled with so many people.

Sonic and Shadow had stopped at the threshold, now standing underneath the arch of the opened double doors where the toad had announced them. Three steps of black marble, carpeted with a thick, plush purple fabric, lead down to the hall that now seemed to contain the entire population of this dimension and a couple of its neighbours', too. The two hedgehogs couldn't make out any humans, but every single other species had apparently decided to adjourn, hand-made colourful dresses and shiny jewellery competing for attention with the bright pelts, fluffed tail feathers and glistening scales mother nature had imbued the attendants with. Larger Sapients like a grizzly bear couple and an elephant – or was that a mammoth? – stood out from the rest, but everyone at least acted the same in one important detail – as soon as their heads had turned to behold the black-furred, freshly arrived supposed Prince, all of them immediately bowed, curtsied or simply dropped to their knees. Sonic had never been to a sports stadium (which probably held as much appeal to him as a circus acrobatics show for Spiderman) but if he had, he supposed he knew now what a reverse la-ola wave would have looked like as the deferential movement washed through the crowd, everyone inclining their heads or bowing deeper. His attention was disrupted when he could suddenly feel a subtle tug on his leash downwards. Emerald eyes flickered over to Shadow.

"Kneel," the black hedgehog hissed under his breath without directly looking at Sonic. "You can't remain standing when even the nobles are bowing."

Sonic, whose only reason for bowing to somebody was usually to pull the red carpet out from under the pretentious feet of the guy he happened to be talking to, started to scowl,

but then out of the corner of his eye saw the toad reach for something on his belt and in reaction almost immediately lowered himself to the floor, even if part of him still rebelled. This was the first time he had behaved like a slave without somebody having to hurt him first...he knew he would have probably been whipped by the toad if he hadn't knelt just now, but he had decided to obey Shadow's command before it came to that. Now even the mere threat of punishment was enough to make him compliant. The collared hero's eyes darkened, angry with himself and this world akin to a poisonous miasma, every breath of which was only trying to make him more of somebody's property. Nails dug into the carpet beneath his hands. He wouldn't let it. Tonight Black Doom's realm would end.

Another tug, this time upwards, prompted Sonic to rise again as Shadow had started to descend the stairs and the blue hedgehog was forced to follow him into the crowd that had straightened up again. The black hedgehog moved a bit more stiffly than usual, his tense shoulders and clenched hand holding the leash telling Sonic that the Ultimate Lifeform was far from relaxed. The blue speedster almost couldn't hold back a tiny grin. As a world-reknowned hero he was more than used to being confronted with huge throngs of people straining to get a look at him, and at times he even enjoyed the waving and signing of autographs, but it didn't take a detective to figure out that the obviously flustered Ultimate Lifeform did _not _like to be the center of everyone's attention.

Sonic moved up a little to comfort his distressed owner, supposing there was nothing wrong with a perceived pleasure slave seeking the closeness of his Master.

"Hey, chill out," he whispered to Shadow, "We're here on a mission, remember?"

"Then tell them to stop gawking at me," the black hedgehog growled under his breath. "I've had enough of that for a lifetime."

"Oy, you're not the one dressed up as a bondage toy," Sonic retorted, indicating the items that bound him with a wry glance. "Think I appreciate being shown off like this?"

"Point taken," Shadow replied. "So what do you suggest?"

"Same as I'd suggest at any party," Sonic gave his supposed Master a bright grin. "Let's hit the _food_!"

xxx

"Look, Shadow, I've told you before. We can't make progress like this," Ebony said once again, her voice a forced calm even if her twitching whiskers showed that the session so far had been a bit...harrowing. Crimson eyes returned her gaze expressionless.

"What do you mean, servant girl?" he asked, his aura one of easy arrogance.

"_You're using Sonic as a footstool again, that is what I mean!" _the cat exploded, before once more trying to calm down again. Counting to ten in her head helped. And imagining shooting her patient.

"Take your feet off him and let him sit up. Now," she ordered, pinching the fur above her nose and for a moment closing her eyes.

"Why? He likes serving me," Shadow simply stated, not moving an inch. Ebony shot him a look and then, a black-furred, clawed hand closed over a plastic item on the table.

"Either you do as I say or I will use my witch powers to summon the demons in my devil box again. Your choice."

There was a moment of silence, and then black legs in boots slowly slid off the cowering blue hedhehog and onto the floor.

"...fine. You may win this argument, but when my father gets here, you and your devil box will burn at the stake."

"Hm-hm, I'm sure we will," Ebony replied calmly, sitting down again and replacing the item she had taken on the desk. The Prince eyed the remote and the TV behind her like poison, but Ebony smiled. Who knew that an afternoon re-run of _Pokémon_ when she had switched the TV on earlier would have been able to scare the living daylights out of both her spiky patients...

xxx

"Sonic..."

Shadow was about to reply that in his opinion, this 'party' probably was a bit different than the other ones Sonic had attended so far, but was proven wrong when right at this moment a servant carrying a plate of _hors d'oeuvres_ walked past, proving that yes, there obviously was such a thing as medieval finger food. Sonic's stomach growled at the smell and reminded Shadow that technically, his pet hedgehog hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday.

_And I have actually gone on for even longer, _the Ultimate Lifeform knew, but was also aware that this was a much harder feat for the non-artifically engineered blue hero. Still, at the moment he couldn't do much about it – looking around at the guests attending the dinner, he could discern three groups, dressed-up nobles, tray-carrying servants and collared slaves, and the black hedgehog was pretty certain the food was not intended for the latter two.

"They could at least have let the slaves put some clothes on for the occasion," Sonic muttered under his breath, scowling a bit at the assembly. Shadow had led the two to a quieter corner of the room where they were able to observe for a moment. So far, everyone was still standing, the long, set tables at the walls of the hall unoccupied and the raised pedestal at the end of the room holding Black Doom's throne empty. Most of the nobles were standing around, holding drinks and making conversation, much as if a business lunch had suddenly decided to go medieval theme party this time. Shadow shrugged in response to Sonic's remark.

"So what? You're more comfortable without clothes, anyway."

"That's not the point, Shads. This is about choice. Neither me nor the other slaves here were even able to chose whether we wanted to wear anything else apart from…jewellery," Sonic said, the last word an obvious euphemism for what some of the other owners had forced onto (and into) their pets. Shadow had already gotten the distinct impression that whatever this dinner was about for him and Sonic, for most people this seemed to be an opportunity to show off their respective living property.

Only too bad that if this was supposed to be a pet dog show, most people would find out soon enough that Shadow had brought the equivalent of Fenrir.

"The slaves will be used to it," Shadow replied laconically. "Now we have to focus on locating Black Doom and the Emerald."

"Haven't seen either. Maybe he's decided to be fashionably late?" Sonic suggested.

"I can't even sense the Emerald. If he's got it with him, he can't be in the hall yet," Shadow agreed. "We'll have to wa-"

"Why _hello_ there, my Prince!"

The black hedgehog was standing with his back to the direction the voice was coming from; therefore Sonic facing him had a prime view of the Ultimate Lifeform's eyes growing as big as power rings when he heard those words.

He turned around very slowly.

"Hello, Rouge. Fancy meeting you here."

Shadow wouldn't even have needed to look to see who it was, but he did anyway. The slightly deeper tone of voice than that of other females, the hint of lasciviousness and playful flirting glinting through the gaps in between her words like a flash of ivory leg seen through a slit in a tightly-cut purple satin gown, that undercurrent of threat and temptation to everything she said…there were a thousand clues that this was Rouge the Bat, his ally, landlord, and friend. And even her figure did not seem to have changed at all.

"'Rouge', my Prince? No title for me?" she asked, a gently mocking smile already gracing her features after she seemed to have been taken aback for a moment, but was now once again composed and relaxed. "Usually I have to offer you at least three glasses of wine for you to become this familiar…" she smiled, one of her delicate eye ridges raised, moving her hips so the violet fabric of her elegant dress stretched in all the right places for a second. Shadow bit his lip. The way she acted with him, he had to assume that the Prince of this dimension was at least almost as familiar with this Rouge as he was with the Mobius version and that meant the albino bat would be able to catch him acting out of character a lot more easily…

"But I think I _like_ it when you say my name."

_Yup. That's Rouge,_ Shadow couldn't help but think while cringing inwardly as the bat was already standing way too close and almost breathing her words, long eye lashes fluttering at him like the wings of a turquoise butterfly. A red-striped arm reached backwards. The Ultimate Lifeform might have been rubbish at fencing, but he sure knew how to use a shield…

"HaveyoumetSonicyet?" Shadow asked conversationally (and very quickly), at the same time yanking his surprised slave elegantly forward.. Sonic yelped and stumbled to a stop in front of Rouge, reflexively taking a moment to brush his quills back and straighten his collar again, both of which Shadow knew would not have been permissible for him – a slave was only allowed to adjust himself and the attire his Master had placed on him with permission, a cruel and pointless rule that only could have been devised in this kingdom. Shadow suspected that Sonic would have disregarded it out of principle anyway, had he known about it, but if Rouge had noticed this little transgression, she didn't comment.

Didn't comment on the _transgression_, anyway.

"Oh. My. Gods. Shadow, _where_ did you find him?" she breathed, before already having placed her hands on Sonic's head and apparently looking into his ear. Sonic wasn't sure what she expected to find in there, but unless it was yellow and waxy, he supposed she would be disappointed. "He's a _jewel_!" the bat exclaimed, running a hand along his cheek and then grasping his chin lightly, two fingers pinching his jaw and the blue hero realized she wanted to open his mouth, too.

_Alright, lady, b__ut this better be the *last* cavity you want to have a look at or else I'm going to bite._

"Such fine teeth, too…" Rouge cooed. "And goodness knows hedgehogs are _so_ rare to breed. That has to be an amazing place you got him from."

_Yes, it's called the 21__st__ century and we have dental plans, _Shadow would have liked to comment, but didn't. Sonic, currently letting his eyes roam around the room and patiently baring his teeth was already acting a lot more docile than he would have expected him to, and he didn't want to ruin it.

"He was a wild one, actually. Took me a while to stop him from chewing the carpets.."

"Even so, it seems like you would once again trump any other pet with yours this year," Rouge said, finally crossing her arms across her chest, letting Sonic close his mouth with a snap. "And I had had such high hopes this time, too," she sighed, but looked more amused than actually disappointed. She briefly glanced over her shoulder.

"Ken, foot."

Blue and black eye ridges rose as at her command, a collared monkey rose immediately from a crouching position at her backside and stood beside her, eyes downcast. He was in no way as ugly, dirty or unfit as the bonobo attempting to force himself on Sonic had been, but was very pleasant to look at. Perhaps as young as the blue hedgehog himself, he stood lean and tall, a gold ring around his head with strands of honey-coloured fur spilling over it reminiscent of Tails' hair-style. As with all monkeys, his bare feet slightly resembled human hands and parts of his face were furless, water-blue eyes not meeting anybody's stare.

"Meet my precious stone of the East," Rouge presented him. "Meet Monkey Khan. I call him Ken."

Sonic had seen the other slave's long tail twitch as his old name was mentioned. The hedgehog attuned to trouble thought that perhaps here stood another pretender like himself, but couldn't make sure without meeting the other's gaze.

"What an interesting specimen," Shadow relied politely. "He looks very strong," the black hedgehog remarked, perhaps on the same train of thought as Sonic. Rouge nodded and smiled even wider.

"He should be, he was very well treated," the bat agreed. "For you see, my Prince…I own a former _king_!" she laughed, at the same time running a delicate hand through the head fur of the young monkey in a gesture that was as caressing as it was possessive and both hedgehogs could see the other's hands balling into fists, face screwed up in desperation and shame for one brief moment. The bat didn't take her gloved hand off his head, instead drumming her fingers a little on his skull while pursing her lips.

"I actually heard all sorts of fancy stuff about him. Apparently, he can ride clouds and has a staff that commands thunder. Perhaps they were just trying to raise his selling price, but you know what, the way he sometimes looks at the clouds from the window, I'm inclided to believe them."

"Indeed," Shadow said,actually only wishing they could get away so they wouldn't miss the moment when Black Doom entered, but it had sparked a faint amount of curiosity. "So why doesn't he do it right now?"

"Cursed ring that binds his powers," Rouge winked, tapping the gold band around the slave's head. "Can't even take it off by himself."

"A slave with powers. How unique," Shadow commented, the small undertone of irony probably lost on anyone but Sonic.

"Yes, isn't he just?" Rouge pursed her lips. I think even if I don't have anything to oust your blue boy here, I at least might be able to trump that upstart S-"

"My Prince!"

Shadow almost flinched at the unfamiliar voice calling out the greeting behind his back, but not only because every time someone had hailed him by that title, things had usually gotten worse afterward. No, this was different. It took a lot to make an address of respect to a royal sound like the equivalent of 'SUP, HOMIE?' at the same time, but somehow, whoever had just called out had managed it. In fact, it sounded almost like a feat worthy of a certain blue speedster…Shadow turned around to the source of the greeting.

And saw Sonic.

Who wasn't Sonic at all.

"Oh, hello, 'Prince'. We were just talking about you, how…wonderful," Rouge said, and if her words had been any colder, demons would have started cranking up their thermostats a few levels below. The addressed green hedgehog, however, only smiled like the devil himself and treated them all to a brilliant grin of razor-sharp teeth.

"Glad to hear it, my darling Duchess," he said, giving her a wink that would have been considered inappropriate in most red-light districts, before taking a small bow to Shadow that couldn't have mocked itself any further.

"Scourge the Hedgehog at your service…my Prince."

xxx

"Well?" Knuckles asked as Ebony the Cat stepped out of the interview room, closing the door behind her carefully, as her two hedgehog patients were still inside. The feline seemed exhausted, whiskers and ears drooping, her elegant tail almost dragging on the floor.

"Can you help them?" Tails asked, his twin appendages looking like giant hamsters that had been put into a tumble dryer, so frayed and knotted was the fur from his nervous habit of pulling at their tips or twirling them together.

"Uh..." Ebony started, giving a small look to the side, where they could still see the pair in the room through the one-way mirror. Sonic, if possible, was in a worse state of distress than his younger brother and lay curled up to Shadow's feet who was currently petting him. The black cat looked back at the fox and the echidna.

"...to be honest, it's not going very well so far."

"But what has _happened_ to them?" Tails asked her, his blue eyes conveying the kit's despair at being able to understand the most complicated of circuit diagrams yet failing to grasp what was going on in his big brother's brain.

"I don't know," Ebony admitted, massaging her own temples with one slender hand, "It's not from any external causes, we ran the usual blood tests for any drugs that could have caused these symptoms."

"Then what?" Knuckles prompted. "Did they spontaneously contract schizophrenia simultaneously?"

"It's not that either," the dark-furred feline shook her head with a sigh. "Apart from the fact that you don't just 'contract' a psychological disorder. It takes time to develop. Weren't there any signs before this?"

"Well...they both weren't exactly what you would call 'mentally stable'-" Knuckles began, but was silenced when Tails slapped his arm.

"Knuckles! Not helping!"

"Sorry."

"What he _meant_ to say, Doctor," Tails turned his imploring gaze toward Ebony again, "Is that Sonic and Shadow both weren't the most normal people in the world, but they were definitely sane. And they _never_ acted out of character like this."

"Well, Shadow did forget his identity several times," the Guardian pointed out. "But this time not even mentioning that Maria girl's name could snap him out of it."

"The problem is not so much that they have forgotten who they were, but that they have developed completely _new_ personalities. And not just personalities. They've told me – well, to be more precise, _Shadow_ has told me – an incredible amount of detail and history pertaining to their backgrounds, their families, their home..." Ebony put a hand across her face. "I spent the last twenty minutes listening to him" - she jerked a thumb at the Ultimate Lifeform - "telling me how he as the 'son of the King' is in danger of losing his position as 'heir to the throne', because _apparently,_ a green hedgehog called Scourge (and a lot of other names by Shadow, but I won't repeat them here) is currently holding greater favour with his father. That is because this other Mobian is a young, successful knight general who is 'leading his father's armies from victory to victory'. To be frank, I have never had a patient before who seems to have taken most of his lines straight from a badly-written, pseudo-medieval romance novel."

An idea seemed to strike her. "They don't consume this kind of literature much, do they?" she asked, tail tip flicking in suspicion.

"No," Knuckles shook his head. "Sonic barely sits still long enough to read a comic book and I don't think Shadow reads novels and the like at all. But if he does, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be caught dead with a romance story."

Under any other circumstances, the idea of the Ultimate Lifeform lying on his belly on a couch somewhere, feet crossed at the ankles in the air, possibly twirling a quill around his finger as he consumed the latest volume of _Highlight_ (the teenie bestseller book series based around a bunch of sparkly vampires running a hair-dying business) would have seemed hilarious to Tails, but right now, he was too exhausted and on edge to find anything funny. He merely hung his head.

"Yeah, Knuckles is right. Sonic usually doesn't read books or even watches much in the way of historical movies or documentaries. Why, does that cancel out a theory of yours?"

"It wouldn't even have called it a theory, it' was so far-fetched," Ebony sighed. "I'm merely curious because I can't even begin to fathom where all this _detail_ they're telling me is coming from, especially because they both corroborate each other's stories. They don't slip up when I ask them about any specific events again, either. Usually, you can start helping a hallucinating patient by showing them where there's inconsistencies in their dreamworld and guide them out of it – to put it in layman's terms – but their 'knowledge' about their imagined past is so _thorough_ I had to get out of there before I started believing them myself," she said, her fir green-eyes looking at them a bit helplessly. "It is as if they had been working on their story for _months._"

"What?" repeated Knuckles, "Working for months on a story where Shadow is a freak Prince and Sonic his...slave or pet or whatever...who'd do _that?_!"

xxx

"Good...evening," Shadow volunteered as the green hedgehog straightened up again, not at all sure what kind of relationship he was supposed to have with this new arrival. Rouge seemed to dislike him, that much was obvious, and the guy didn't seem to radiate a particularly trustworthy aura, either. His fur was green enough to be reminiscent of toxic waste and in a strange colour-reversal from Sonic, his eyes were instead pure blue – but it was neither the icy colour of Hathor, nor the calm sky-blue of Maria, and not even the stormy stare of Jet. Scourge's eyes were lit up as if by St. Elmo's fire, shining with a wicked amusement akin Sonic's when he was in a good mood, except that the expression on the green hedgehog's face signalled that no-one but him would have reason to laugh if that was the case. He wore a black leather vest with a silver shoulder plate on it like Shadow, the metal also clasping a black cape. The long, angry red scar across his chest would not really have been needed to illustrate his Bad Guy –status (just as his name was probably somewhere in the Top 10 of the 'Names To Run Away From Really Fast'-list, right next to General Hom. E. Cide, or perhaps Attila von Killington). And if even _that_ wouldn't have been enough, his feet were also stuck in heavy, black leather boots that were only missing the metal spikes underneath, or perhaps a small dead kitten stuck to the sole.

And in everything else, he looked just exactly like Sonic. Shadow couldn't help but raise an eye ridge as his gaze trailed over the more than-familiar quill-shape, the slim, athletic body-built and even the exact same bone structure of their faces. Had Rouge said this guy was royalty, too…?

"Nice monkey you brought along, Duchess," Scourge drawled with a nod toward Khan still standing dejectedly next to the bat. "A pity you didn't seem able to afford him the training to pose himself correctly."

"I do not consider myself to be in need of a trainer to care for my pets," Rouge replied, her own bat fangs glistening as sharply as Scourge's incisors, "In fact, why anyone would be incapable of training their property themselves is beyond me."

"For ordinary slaves, this might be so," the green hedgehog retorted, ignoring the less than subtle barbs from Rouge's direction, "but I think both me and the Prince know the value of engaging simply the best when it comes to our personal belongings. Here, please have a look at my new toy – trained by none other than Silver the Hedgehog himself."

"Manic!"

It was only a little exclamation, but it nevertheless sufficed for Scourge's eyes narrowing in on Sonic like a hawk on his prey. The blue hedgehog had called out the name without thinking when his former class-mate had been pulled forward by his equally green-furred

Master, probably more in reaction to his get-up than anything else.

It included…feathers. A lot of feathers. And some leather cuffs, though these were linked together with actual chain, instead of letting their wearer move freely like Sonic's did. But mostly a lot of feathers.

"Is that _yours_, my Prince?" Scourge asked sharply in reaction to the blue hedgehog's outburst. Sonic himself was torn between shooting glances at the apparently thoroughly embarrassed Manic and sending glares toward his owner. Shadow stepped in to break the eye contact.

"Yes, _he _is. Interestingly enough, he was _also_ trained by Silver and is now living proof that despite what you seem to think, even an expensive grooming can't guarantee for everything," the dark-furred Prince stated, an ever so subtle hint of derision creeping under his words, Rouge blinking for a moment before realizing that Shadow had just somehow managed to turn a slip-up of his pet into a put-down of the other hedgehog. In fact, there was a power-struggle going on here, wasn't there…

"It can, provided you use some classy material," Scourge retorted, and the bat could see both the Prince's and his slave's back quills subtly rising in response to the thinly-veiled insult, for a moment appearing much more attuned to each other than a royal and mere property of his should. Actually, all three of the hedgehogs now had widened their stances and shoulders broadened, even the body language of the Prince's blue-furred slave now radiating an underlying aggressiveness that would have caused Duchess Rouge's modern counterpart to call the testosterone fire brigade so the three of them could be hosed down. Living 400 years too early for enlightened biology however, the albino bat merely raised an eye ridge at the collared hedgehog's odd behaviour but decided to question the Prince about it later.

"Are you suggesting I have poor taste in pets?" Shadow asked, with a tone that suggested this question was usually asked while the speaker was not holding a blue whirlwind on a leash but more probably stroking a white cat on his lap – and had a tank of sharks for his personal aquarium. Scourge seemed to realize he'd gone too far.

"Wouldn't dream of it, my Prince," he held up his hands in an apologetic gesture, but was still devoid of the fear or nervousness others had displayed in front of a displeased Shadow. "In fact," he continued, already smirking slightly again and eyeing the Prince's slave, "I think our tastes are similar..."

"Are you sure?" Rouge cut in. "Prince Shadow didn't get himself a pet that was an exact same copy of himself, at least. I'd call that Narcissism to the extreme," she waved a hand at Manic.

Scourge merely looked smug. "I see perfection in the mirror and I want more of it. What's so wrong about that? But I do keep female slaves around as well, so you if you ever decide you need something more impressive than your cloud monkey to keep you company…" he let the sentence trail off with a brief hungry look at Rouge, the bat duchess retorting with a look of disdain that would have vaporized weaker males on the spot, but did little to nothing to even faze Scourge. Shadow realized that not only did this green hedgehog have a body, but possibly even an ego to match Sonic's.

"Oh well." The black-clad hedgehog shrugged. "Until then, I suppose I'll have to make do with Manic here. Right?" he asked, at the same time roughly grabbing the younger slave's rump, an obviously tender area, since the collared green hedgehog winced immediately at the coarse contact, but did not try to fight back, merely standing still and enduring whatever his Master decided to do to him next. (Shadow idly wondered whether, after already explaining away Sonic fidgeting and talking tonight, he would also be able to come up with a plausible reason for why his slave had just drop-kicked this Scourge character out of the castle window, but hoped that this would not be the case.)

"Y-yes, Master," Manic whispered at the rhetorical question posed to him and Scourge nodded in satisfaction.

"Glad to hear it. I hope you enjoyed meeting your classmate from today again, Manic. I know _I_ did," he said, briefly stepping closer to Sonic again until there were mere inches separating their faces and giving the bridling slave a last, smirking once over. Shadow could not help but observe how closely they seemed to match – the pride in the hero of Mobius' stance was only mirrored in the green hedgehog's arrogance; Sonic's aura of power, warning and daring only matched by the other radiating pure threat and violence and danger. Distorted reflections of each other, they were exactly the same height and as fire blue stared into emerald, the black hedgehog thought grimly that the only reason this guy unsettled Sonic more than the others who had already tried to lay claim to his body was that the blue hedgehog was actually considering this one a capable opponent. Scourge was obviously riled up underneath his restrained demeanour that a mere slave was returning his gaze so unabashedly, and Sonic…simply didn't take well to copies.

"Well...what a catch you seem to have made there, Prince," the green hedgehog conceded in a drawl, before then his eyes flashed almost like his blue look-alike's when he had just had a flash of inspiration, and his hand suddenly shot downwards and gave the same rough squeeze to Sonic's rear as he had previously treated Manic to. A vicious sneer flitted over his face to accompany the uncouth gesture, the wickedly gleaming eyes of the green-furred noble boring into surprised and angry emerald ones with a triumphant expression. His gaze said that Scourge knew how much the other had to resent being touched by him - never mind in such a manner - but that he had been powerless to stop him anyway. And it said that he could understand every single facet and fibre of Sonic's frustration and hate about that fact and that Scourge revelled in every cruel bit of it. The black-gloved hand finally let go, running its finger tips over the bruised section as he redrew his arm, the mock-loving touch perhaps an even greater insult than the assault beforehand. Shadow yanked Sonic back on his leash so the blue hedgehog was pulled out of Scourge's immediate radius.

"I would prefer you not to touch him. He is for use by none other than myself," he said, hiding his anger with obvious difficulty but still managing to keep his characteristiccalm for the moment. By forcing the blue hero backward, he had also just prevented Sonic's fist from making contact with Scourge's snout, which had been the speedster's reaction the _last_ time toward the unfortunate individual who had attempted to cop a feel. (That and an almost broken hip...)

Scourge pretended to be taken aback. "Oh, he's private? I'm sorry, I had thought you had taken him here to show him around to us," he said, in a tone that conveyed that in his opinion Shadow was some sort of dense oddball, not wanting hand his pet around like everybody else. Because these slaves hadn't just been dressed up for a fancy dinner, but were here for a status contest of their owners...

Shadow and Sonic had both already began to realize this, but now Scourge's words confirmed their suspicions definitely. No wonder every collared Sapient here had been confined into the strangest and most uncomfortable of costumes. No wonder people were fawning over wretched-looking and intimidated sentient pets at every corner and shooting jealous glances at anyone who had brought something rarer or prettier. In fact, Shadow just now noticed he was at the receiving end of quite a few of these looks himself...

(Which, of course, was no surprise. Sonic, a Mobian who had grown up in a world where food was plentiful and medical attention assured, was of course taller, looking better cared-for and stronger than most of the medieval population – or, at least, taller than the rodent part, anyway...- but it wasn't only that. While most of the Sapients dragged here were obviously quite beautiful and had had their bodies groomed for display, all of them visibly bore the consequences of slavery, psychological as well as physical abuse having taken a lot away from their natural beauty. Sonic had obviously been marked by his time spent as living property as well, the lashes he had received so far not yet fully healed and faded away, but these comparatively small injuries had done little to break anything more than his skin. Even now, when he had mostly accepted his role as a temporary pet and Shadow as his pretend Master, there was no denying the fact that he was still one of the most impressive figures in the room; eyes alight with a fire too deep to be extinguished, movements a proud cry of defiance with every little shift of his stance and a chaotic aura, even if only sensible to Shadow, that shone as brightly as a beacon. All in all, when it came to leaving an impression in terms of strutting your stuff, the Ultimate Lifeform and current owner of Sonic was right now comparable to Albus Dumbledore who had turned up at a Party Magicians' Convention.)

"Show, yes. Let him be grabbed by anyone, no," Shadow stated clearly, his grip on Sonic's leash still clenched.

Scourge pursed his lips, but then held up the palms of his hands in gesture of resignation. "Alright. If that is your wish. Though I personally think it's a pity."

Shadow didn't reply but instead offered a look and expression that quite clearly stated he could care less for Scourge's opinion (if it didn't involve the question whether the green hedgehog would prefer to be boiled alive or slowly roasted, that is). Fortunately, the doppelganger of the blue hero finally seemed to pick up on the general sentiments toward him and perhaps decided he had been enough of a pain for tonight.

"But I should probably try and find your father to offer my greetings to His Majesty," he said, again with a mock bow and a little flourish. " He enjoys my company _so_ much, you know? I look forward to talking to you again, my Prince. Manic, heel," he commanded, the younger green hedgehog immediately flinching to attention before he added, "Or, on second thought, wander off and show yourself around, I think I'd rather enjoy myself without baggage for now."

And with that and a last obnoxious wink at Rouge, the green hedgehog turned and swaggered away, either oblivious or indifferent to the hurt expression that had flashed across his slave's face at his careless words. Nevertheless, the collared Sapient obeyed, walking away from the group with a last, sad look at Sonic that begged for understanding.

Rouge shook her head first, her wings flapping briefly as if trying to disperse a poisonous atmosphere her green-furred peer had left behind.

„What a creep," she offered her decided opinion as soon as he was out of ear-shot. "I swear to you, Shadow – my Prince – that if there's any truth to the rumours and your father ever chooses him over you as an heir to the throne, I will emigrate this country."

"...thanks," Shadow replied, not entirely sure whether he should be touched by this sentiment expressed by the usually so opportunistic bat, or maybe feel sorry for the unknown Prince who apparently had to deal with not only one, but _two_ Sonics, and one of them seemed to be the biggest jerk alive. And what was that about the green hedgehog being a rival to the throne? Well, not his problem. If that other Shadow couldn't deal with troublemakers in his own universe, the Ultimate Lifeform was no hero to step in and help him.

xxx

"So you have no idea how Sonic and Shadow could know all that they think they know?" Knuckles asked, sounding slightly despairing. Ebony dug her own claws into her upper arm as she shrugged helplessly.

"Not yet, no. It could be a form of brainwashing or hypnosis, but I have never seen anything like it. Also, neither appear to be suffering from any known psychological disorder. Sonic behaves like a classic victim of both abuse and Stockholm syndrome, but nothing that would explain his hallucinating to be from a completely different life." She frowned. "Although in comparison to Shadow he seems to have much greater gaps in his imagined past..."

"He hasn't," Tails disagreed. "I've seen him when he told you about his 'life in a village' and the story about having no parents. I know Sonic and he was consciously lying at that time."

"What?" Ebony looked taken aback. "You think he's simulating after all?"

"No," the fox kid replied. "He genuinely seems to believe anything else he's saying after what happened when those slavers caught him. But for some reason he is making things up when it comes to his past before that. Why would you substitue a _lie_ for something you _hallucinated_?" the kit asked, obviously close to tearing his headfur out in confusion. "Nothing makes sense..."

Knuckles thought of offering the fact that in less than 36 hours, nothing would _have_ to make sense anymore anyway, as consolation, then considered that this really wasn't very consoling at all, and then came up with another idea.

"...I think I want a drink."

xxx

„Well, I should probably go after him," Rouge said without much enthusiasm shortly after Scoure had departed. „After all, I shall have to pay my respects to your father as well. I hope we can talk again later," the bat smiled at the supposed Prince. „And I also hope despite what you said, you're not going to keep your pretty slave on his leash all night," she said with a wink, „He should be tamed, right? And maybe some of us others would like to get a closer look at him as well..." she gave him another fanged grin and then turned to walk away, her hips swaying subtly beneath her tight dress. Sonic looked after her just a tad longer than Shadow would have liked, but a snap of his fingers just before his eyes brought his distracted slave to attention again.

„Hey. Stop spacing out," Shadow commanded, and Sonic blinked, briefly shaking his head.

„Yeah. Right. Sorry," the blue hedgehog replied, but before he could utter anything else that might have sounded less submissive than his apology, the black hedgehog had already turned away from him and now looked at Monkey Khan who was still standing next to them dejectedly.

"And what are you still doing here?" Shadow asked, not actually aggressively, but more in his standard tone that simply implied that as long as you weren't a threat to mankind in general and to little blonde girl in particular, you weren't really worth his time. The simian looked at his feet.

"The Prince doesn't wish to inspect this slave further?" he asked, the words sounding as if he had to force them from his throat. Sonic grimaced subtly as he remembered how people had told him to use this mode of speaking, too.

Shadow frowned. "Do I look like the local estate agent or something? You can leave," he said, knowing his words would have been confusing, but the Ultimate Lifeform was past caring at this stage. Khan merely nodded and shuffled away into the crowd again where he was immediately beset by new admirers, mostly females that appeared to already have had a bit too much to drink. Sonic at this stage noticed that in fact, there were a lot of slaves wandering about and none of them seemed to be dragged along by their owner...

"Hey," he said, poking his supposed Master in the shoulder at that observation. "Take the leash off, I obviously don't need it."

Shadow (who had rather different opinions on this matter), briefly suppressed the urge to pinch the skin above his nose. "Fine," he relented, knowing he had lost this battle anyway, "But stay in the room. As soon as Black Doom shows so much as a tacky ornament of himself, I want you ready to attack."

"You got it," Sonic replied happily, having no problem obeying Shadow once in a while if he thought himself the black hedgehog's instructions made sense. The usual small tingle of excitement rushed through the collared hero's spine when he was released from his restraint. Shadow proceeded to roll up the gold-interlaced leash around his hand, scanning the room as he did so.

"Good. It would be even better if you could stay close to me, we have no idea what the programme for this evening is supposed to be," he said, crimson eyes roving over the chattering mass of nobles in their dresses and costumes, but failing to pick up on any sort of hints that indicated something was happening other than chit-chat. "And I better don't catch you talking to anyo-"

It was at this point that Shadow turned back to Sonic and noticed a great, big, hedgehog-shaped spot of emptiness right next to him.

The Ultimate Lifeform very slowly, very quietly, uttered a string of curses that would not have been permissible in the current society, or, indeed, any society ever.

Then, of course, he sighed, hooked the rolled-up leash into his belt and strode off himself, to see what helpful hints concerning the war he might be able to get from some other nobles. The crowd had already swallowed Sonic, but the supposed Prince was not particularly concerned about having trouble finding him again. After all, the blue speedster was the kind of person who, when told to be inconspicuous, would immediately go looking for a tightrope, a motorcycle and six burning chainsaws.

_To be continued...

* * *

_

I've tried to find synonyms for 'poisonous atmosphere' for several minutes, but no matter what I wrote, it still sounded as if Scourge had farted before he left.

Aaanyway! I have to apologize for a) the huge delay and b) the fact that this is not the actual chapter I was planning to post. Fact is, actually, that the chapter got wayyyyy too long, so this is in fact the only about a fourth of the original chapter 38 I had written over the last few weeks before I realized that I couldn't possibly post something that was thirty pages plus.^^° So, please look forward to frequent updates for at least the next two chappies and then finally the resolution of a few hints that were dropped in the previous chapter. :P Also in other news, uni has me in its lovely grasp again and I have a feeling I am scarcely better off than most pets in the castle - but never fear, this story is far from discontinued or forgotten. After all, where else would I be able to put my seasonal joke chapters? XD


	39. Get This Party Started

**Chapter 39: Get This Party Started  
**

The throne room was a zoo by now, and its (sapient) animal residents had reached about the same level of noise, activity and mating behaviour.

At least, that was how it seemed to Shadow. The Ultimate Lifeform kept to the walls rather than the center of the room, not wishing to attract too much attention to himself and maybe run into some other friends of the real Prince again, who might be able to tell something was off. So far, Scourge seemed to be the centre of social life instead, a lot of people thronging around him with fake and nervous smiles plastered on their faces who were trying to curry his favour, Shadow could tell. Having spent all his childhood in that narrowly-confined powder keg of social relations that had been the ARK, the Ultimate Lifeform now had very finely tuned antennae for dynamics of power in a group; the green hedgehog was obviously the up-and-coming guy and, much like Sonic, enjoyed his audience more than was decent. The Ultimate Lifeform briefly wondered what the real Prince might have done had he been here...

_But that isn't my concern._ He was actually trying to avoid thinking about his other-dimensional doppelganger, not wanting to imagine what kind of havoc the other might be wreaking wherever he was right now. Shadow vaguely hoped that this Prince might at least be as smart as he himself was and could keep himself out of trouble.

Out of the corner of his eye, he actually caught a glance of his supposed slave at the other side of the hall at this point. Sonic was casually walking past a turtle servant carrying a tray of some sort of proto-sandwiches, looking for all the world like just another broken pet dragged here for show...just up until the moment when the unfortunate servant blinked, there was a faint whoosh of air, and when the shelled reptile opened his eyes again, the entire food selection had mysteriously disappeared, a certain peach-furred chest now covered in rather a lot of crumbs. Sonic, of course, was already sauntering away from the flabberghasted castle employee gawking at his empty tray in shock but not paying any attention to the (now happily fed) collared blue hedgehog who had seemingly not even broken his stride. Shadow had watched the entire procedure and now slowly dragged a hand across his face.

_My double not getting into trouble? Not if he's brought his own bloody blue maniac along..._

xxx

The maniac in question was licking the last crumbs off his lips and enjoyed the feeling of having food inside himself again (even if he had had to eat VERY quickly). This dinner-slash-party actually wasn't half bad, Sonic thought. He was able to wander around among people without having to be on a leash and could finally have a proper look at the population of this odd dimension without somebody trying to kill him (or worse). The blue hedgehog supposed there might have been about 200-odd people in the hall, if you counted guests, slaves and servants together. Since the tables were still standing at the sides of the room, the standing space was fairly limited in the middle, but nobody seemed to mind thus far. Most nobles were happy to chat, drink, show off their pets and...

...a hand landed on Sonic's arm, belonging to a random wolf female he had never before seen in his life.

"My, isn't that fur silky! Tell me, have you ever seen such a fine pelt?" she asked her hyena friend, who immediately started running her fingers through the blue hero's peach coat as well, the enslaved hero unable to do anything else but to hold still and endure.

"Not bad at all! I have a soap that produces a similar effect on my pets, let me tell you about it..." the two canines moved on, talking to one another animatedly, leaving Sonic to give a sound not unlike Marge Simpson and flatten the ruffled fur on his arm again. Well, that was definitely the fourth activity the guests here seemed to like to indulge in. Groping other people. Sonic stalked off again, trying to shake off the irritation this encounter had left him with. Despite what he thought earlier, now he realized once again that it was almost impossible to enjoy this evening, or any other activity at all, with other people constantly reminding you of your supposed status as an object. Sonic scowled, his familiar grudge with this kingdom for attempting to crush their slaves' spirits so thoroughly resurfacing. Well, so far they were at least failing pretty hard with him. His ear twitched as he sensed another noble approaching, and them he already could see at the edge of his vision another silk-gloved hand stretching out, nearing his body...

There was an ever so subtle displacement of air and Princess Amy was left to wonder why the blue hedgehog she had longed to inspect again was suddenly standing 30 feet away at the other side of the hall without her having seen him move at all. Oh dear, perhaps she really shouldn't have had that much to drink on an empty stomach...

Sonic watched the pink girl over his shoulder how she looked faintly confused and then went off to sit down, shaking her head and leaving her wine glass on a waiter's tray. The collared hero couldn't help but give a faint grin, for a moment wishing this simple tactic would still work so well on _his_ Amy, too. Next, he scanned the room for anything else to occupy his interest for the time being, and his gaze immediately fell onto a familiar face again.

_Hey, Manic! _He would have liked to call out, but this time didn't – for once, he was pretty sure that slaves here also weren't allowed to talk to each other, never mind yelling across the hall, but he also wasn't quite sure the other would even have been able to hear him.

For the smile that had sprung onto the blue speedster's face at the younger hedgehog's sight was immediately replaced by a frown as he saw that the poor green Sapient was currently being abused as well – he was surrounded by a gaggle of gawkers, all of them prodding and fingering the suffering hedgehog in their midst. Manic's face was lit up in embarassment, but he kept his head hanging down and his stare glued to the floor as he was obviously helpless to escape the humiliating treatment. Sonic's fists curled, but then his glare was instantly replaced by a sudden calculating expression as he had turned his head and could see Jet of all people coming toward the younger hedgehog and the group, the hawk servant carrying a tray of glasses filled with red wine...

Anybody who could have seen the expression on Sonic's face right now would have done well to go hide.

As it was, nobody did, and the next things that happened were the gasp of a surprised avian, the clattering (and shattering) of drinks flying through the air and then a veritable cacophony of shrieks from roughly half a dozen ladies who had just gotten red wine splashed all over their dresses. The treacherous blue leg that had caused the hawk to trip, however, had mysteriously disappeared.

Manic stared after his tormentors as they rushed from the room to get cleaned up, alternately fuming and crying, the terrified servant stumbling after them, and seemed a bit speechless.

"Hey there, bud. Glad to see those harpies finally left you alone," a cheerful voice let him turn and next Sonic was pleased to see that there actually was a flash of recognition and even a faint smile on the other's face this time. At least, Sonic tried to look at his _face_ and not anywhere else. The poor pet hedgehog had been forced to wear a sort of plumage of green feathers that gave him a peacock-like fan tail and the blue hero didn't even want to know how exactly they had been attached. Also, his wrist cuffs were now linked with two chains to his belt which prevented him from moving his arms too freely and his legs were shackled together by a length at the thighs. The sad thing was, in comparison to other slaves here, he actually hadn't struck that bad a deal.

"Did...did you...?" the younger hedgehog whispered now and Sonic only grinned broader.

"Sure did. They'll think twice about bothering another poor hedgehog again," he said and winked. "I've had it up to _here_ with people groping us as if this was a petting zoo anyway."

"But..." the green hedgehog began, then looked around a bit furtively to see if anybody was overhearing their forbidden talking and then continued as if surprised himself by his daring, "But this is what this dinner is about," he said, sounding like he couldn't believe Sonic didn't know that, "Our owners show us off, so they can be proud of us. Of course we will have to be," he swallowed and looked away, "_touched_ for that. That's what we're there for, isn't it?" Manic asked, indicating the red and black collar Sonic wore around his neck as well, the implication obvious. Then the other looked away and with an almost wistful expression on his face added:

"And sometimes when my Master is proud of me he pets or even just holds me, so I don't mind if I have to do other things for him..."

It sounded so forlorn and longing it almost broke Sonic's heart. The younger hedgehog was yearning for something so simple, which everybody deserved to be given to them freely and not as an occasional 'treat' when they had gone through unspeakable things to please their perceived Masters. Manic obviously needed to be set straight about quite a few things. The hero of Mobius pinched his snout and laid a hand on the other's shoulder, leading him away into a quieter corner of the hall and taking a deep breath, because what came next would take some time.

"Okay, Manic, listen."

_Chaos, here we go again. And to think I thought I wouldn't have to say this ever again..._

"Let me put it like this," the blue hedgehog said. "There's nothing cooler than getting a hug from someone you like. _But_ if that someone tries to touch you in a place or way that makes you feel uncomfortable..."

xxx

The Ultimate Lifeform was still moving along the edge of the throne room, keeping away from the other guests mingling in the middle, his aura that of a feral tiger circling at the bars of his cage, or of a mountain lion stalking a herd of unsuspecting deer. So far, no other people had tried to bother him, which was a relief - perhaps they were sensing his bad mood and kept away instinctively, or maybe their subconscious was telling them that this strange midnight creature was not even a part of their world. Though whatever it was, at least it meant that Shadow could observe freely and sometimes even keep an eye on Sonic, who seemed to enjoy his relative freedom among other people for once. But of Black Doom, the characteristic energy signature of a Chaos Emerald, or even those other royals that were supposed to be invited there was no sign...Shadow's frustration was mounting. Then another familiar voice reached his ears and black eye ridges rose in surprise.

"Gimme that! That's not a toy, I keep telling ya! The king's gonna have us all drawn and quartered if you keep this up!" A voice tried (and failed) to hiss under the speaker's breath, but it was still rather audible. The reply was prompt.

"Aww, but VECTOR! Espio _promised_ I could play the drums!"

"Charmy, _will_ you shut up!" A rather disgruntled armadillo could be heard, the words somewhat indistinct because the Sapient was carrying a huge load of musical instruments into the room through a side door, but he did not seem to be straining under the considerable weight. "A), Espio is not here because he'd be recognized, b), _I_ play the drums, and c) y_ou_ will be quiet or we will make use of these wonderful local customs here and sell you off as a slave to these loving people. Though the gods know who would be masochistic enough to buy you," he muttered the last part to himself as he put his load down in the corner.

"You _can't_!" The bee squeaked, obviously a bit frightened by this new threat. "The boss would never let you!"

"We can tell her you got captured in the line of undercover work," this dimension's version of Vector grinned his crocodile smile at the little insect. "No questions asked."

"N-no, I-I'll be good!" Charmy assured the reptile hastily, buzzing about and nodding his head frantically. Somewhat to the side he added: "Though I don't get why this king bloke would want to have us drawn anyway, it's not like a portrait would hurt anybody..."

"G-guys? Have you seen him yet?" A fourth member of the group poked his head through the door, a rather scrawny-looking, sunflower-coloured squirrel. Shadow, who was pretending to inspect a painting on the wall at the moment while watching the troupe from the corner of his eye, hadn't seen a rodent Mobian as part of the Chaotix yet in their home dimension, but alternate realities apparently also allowed for characters without counterparts.

"No, we haven't," the armadillo replied at this point, shaking his head with the curious yellow oval ears sticking to the side while arranging the instruments on a blanket spread on the floor. "But since Espio's found out he _is_ in the castle, it can only be a matter of time until we find him. But if we keep talking about it like this, we'll blow our cover even _without_ Charmy's help, so could we _please_ start acting like court musicians now?" the red and black marsupial sighed, apparently used to be the voice of reason within this group.

Soon after that, the four mis-matched Sapients were indeed starting to set up the instruments and moving about trying to prepare for playing them, but saying nothing else pertaining to their actual plans. Only their furtive glances about were now a clue that apparently, the Chaotix detective agency could be hired no matter who you were, what you were looking for, or, indeed, which dimension you resided in. So far, Shadow didn't have a clue who they were working for or what they wanted, and briefly considered ratting them out to the nearest guard just because their presence made things more complicated, but quickly decided against it. Chances were they wanted something that would make Black Doom unhappy and that was fine with Shadow. (Also, he kind of liked the red-and-black colour scheme of the armadillo guy.) So in his opinion, as long as they weren't stupid enough to try and steal the Emerald for themselves (or made an attempt at his life when they thought him the Prince) they could do as they pleased.

The black hedgehog's gaze roved over the hall again and spotted Sonic about thirty feet away, his supposed slave currently talking to Scourge's pet hedgehog (Shadow thought he could make out that something or other was 'NO GOOD' and somebody should 'get outta there!', although it wasn't quite clear where to), and then decided that since there was nothing else to do at the moment, he might as well sit down on one of the red plush proto-sofas standing in one of the darker corners of the room.

xxx

"Okay," Knuckles started out, now sitting across from Shadow. They had finally managed to separate the two without bloodshed and now hoped that perhaps in this new constellation they could glean some more information, especially concerning the source of the fantasy world the two hedgehogs' minds seemed to be trapped in. The echidna looked at his question sheet.

"Have you ever been to any...strange websites?"

"What?" the black hedgehog gave him a dead-pan stare, arms crossed.

"What kind of websites do you visit? In the internet?"

"_What_ do I visit _where_?" the other asked, eyes narrowing now. Knuckles scowled in annoyance.

"Oh no, don't give me that. I live on a flippin floating _island _and I know about that stuff. You know, the internet? On a computer? Webpages? Blogs? Forums? That blasted Wikipedia thing? Manipulating character polls so you come out on top of that blue hedgehog? I mean, _come on!_"

There was a bit of a pause as the two Sapients stared at each other. Finally, the self-proclaimed Prince opened his mouth.

"...you are a madman who speaks in tongues. I don't trust you, foreign red devil."

Ebony, who was watching the proceedings through the one-way mirror knew that it wasn't a good sign that Knuckles had just ripped the paper in half.

xxx

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

Sonic's head snapped around at the address of another familiar voice. Manic had just been dragged off by Scourge and the blue-furred hero had once again been feeling powerless as he was unable to do a thing to stop his friend being leashed and led away, a little fact that Scourge hadn't failed to underline with yet another infuriating smug smirk and a finger so much like Sonic's own trailing suggestively along the hero's collar, asking "Man, you gotta hate having to wear one of these, don'tcha, blue...?" Sonic couldn't even begin to conceive the horror and degradation of being a true slave in this world and feeling that helpless _everyday_...

He made sure he had his features carefully re-arranged before he turned around.

"Maybe a little, not very much," he replied truthfully to the the sixth hedgehog hanging around here this evening. "And you?" he asked. "Or are you just here to catch any pets lacking in etiquette?"

"Casual as ever, I see," Silver sighed with a small weary smile. "I saw you talking to your class-mate just now."

"Yeah," Sonic shrugged. "I know it's-" he paused. "Wait, you're not expecting me to use that slave-speak here, are ya?"

Silver raised an eye rige. "Would you?"

"No."

" I thought so. What were you talking about?"

"This and that, nothing in particular," Sonic dodged the potentially loaded question. "His Master treats him pretty badly, you know?" he asked instead, making no effort to conceal the slight accusation riding on his words. Silver actually looked a bit contrite and awkward now.

"I...know," he said with some hesitation. "I also wish Manic would have a better home," he added quietly, almost as if those words hadn't even been meant to be heard.

Sonic crossed his arms, a bit surprised at this reaction, but not displeased. "If you know, then why did you work for his owner?"

"Because it's Lord Scourge," Silver replied simply, as if that was explanation enough.

"Yeah, Lord _Sicko_," Sonic replied scathingly (only remembering a second later that perhaps he shouldn't let his mouth run quite as loose within ear-shot of Silver if he didn't want to be on the receiving end of another literal mind-screw...), but the telekinetic hedgehog merely shot Sonic a faintly surprised look and then shook his head as if telling himself that this wasn't _his_ fault. Besides, Sonic was faintly convinced the other might have agreed with him on that point...

"But, eh, listen, if you didn't come to check up on me how hard I am failing your training right now, was there anything else you wanted?" Sonic asked quickly. "I mean, I don't mind just chatting to you if you came here for that..."

Silver met his gaze again. "Actually, I wanted to apologize."

"Say what?" Sonic looked honestly surprised. "For what? Air-groping me?"

A brief look of panic crossed Silver's face as the collared hedgehog mentioned his secret powers so openly, but then he shook his head rapidly, becoming serious again.

"No," he said, amber eyes trying to keep Sonic's gaze. "I wanted to apologize for almost letting you get killed."

"...oh." Sonic managed. "Uh, thanks, I guess. Actually, a lot of people have managed that so far, but you're the first one who apologized afterwards, so, yeah, that's nice. But it wasn't really your fault, was it?" he asked. "Two-horned and crazy was just in one of his moods again, I thought."

"It wasn't directly my fault, no," Silver said, shaking his head and ignoring Sonic's verbal High Treason because this was apparently something really important for him. "But I..." he stopped and paused, before then taking a breath and starting anew.

"You love your Master," he stated, now no longer holding Sonic's gaze but staring at the floor. "And he loves you. He treats you well and you aim to please him. This is how it should be." He swallowed. "I actually only became a slave trainer because I wanted to make things _better_, you know?" he asked and now looked at Sonic with just a bit of that innocence jaded by a cruel world, yet still fuelled by a stubborn righteousness that he had always associated with the original Silver, too.

"I started out as an etiquette trainer for nobles," he continued. "And because of the contact with High Society I also saw how they treated their slaves and how they often got angry with them and punished them simply because their pets kept doing things wrong since they just didn't _know_ how to behave," he said, now sounding a bit desperate almost as if he was hoping Sonic could understand how he had been feeling back then. "So I got the idea of offering lessons for personal slaves instead. People loved it and I thought that if only I could teach the slaves how they could please their owners, everyone would be happier and nobody would have to be punished anymore..." Amber eyes looked back at Sonic. "But sometimes that didn't work and no day has shown me that as plainly as today."

"Woah..." Sonic wasn't sure how to deal with this, the telekinetic now seeming angry both with himself and this world, and almost close to despair. "Silver, I totally agree with you, but it's okay, I'm fine-"

"It's _not_ okay," the other shook his head, seemingly a bit calmed down even if his voice was still somewhat shaky. "You did everything right today. Everything I or your Master asked of you. And yet, just because His Majesty was feeling cruel today and angry with his son you would have almost been tortured to death. That is not _just!_" Silver exclaimed, before quickly silencing himself and looking around as to whether anybody had overheard him. He shook his head.

"You intrigued me from the very first time I saw you. You were obviously not broken, but unlike the other Wilds I had seen so far, you never rebelled against your collar, but were as obedient as free-spirited. You were obviously content to belong to your Master."

"Happiness in slavery," Sonic paraphrased it for him, his face expressionless. "That's what you were hoping for us?"

"I think so," Silver replied defeatedly. "But seeing you, the only real example I have ever met, I realized how far from this ideal nearly every other of the pets I trained has been. I have been living a lie," he said, fists clenching, the telekinetics inner turmoil also briefly letting various small items in the near vicinity lift up several centimetres into the air for a second as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"By now I don't think there even can be a truly happy slave, ever. Even if your Master loves you, your happiness can be shattered by so many different things and people. You were almost killed, but you could also have been sold, used by someone else or punished by any random passer-by when your Master wasn't around to protect you." Silver looked at him. "You don't live in happiness. You live in fear, don't you?"

"...yes," Sonic lied, knowing that for every other slave here, this was probably true. Silver nodded.

"I thought so," he repeated. "I have been a fool."

Sonic's jaw hardened slightly as he watched the younger hedgehog hang his head in painful shame, wishing there was something he could do for him, but there wasn't. Yet he was glad that the other one, who he had regarded as a good guy so far, was finally seeing eye to eye with him. Silver condoning slavery had been really strange, but now Sonic realized the kid had only meant well, first not knowing better and then hiding from the truth until he could no longer bear it...

"Hey. Can you keep a secret?" Sonic asked the other one quietly. Silver looked up in surprise.

"What...?"

"Maybe there won't have to be slavery much longer," the blue hedgehog winked. "As the personal pet of the Crown Prince I hear things, you know..."

"You can't mean..." Silver whispered, stopping himself. "Prince Shadow would – but it could be _decades_ until His Majesty-!"

"Perhaps we have decided to speed history up a bit," Sonic interrupted the overwhelmed silver hedgehog with a cheeky grin. "Stick around long enough and you might get to see it first hand."

"That is...that is..." the telekinetic tried to compose himself again. "That is more than I could have ever hoped for. I actually only came to find you and say good-bye, since I am just about to go and pack my things before leaving the castle as soon as possible. I have a lot of engagements to get to, but now I can hopefully expect to be out of work soon enough," the silver hedgehog said, for the first time smiling again. Sonic nodded cheerfully.

"We'll take care of it," he said and added in his mind_, sooner than you think_. This was great. If one of them could be won over to support a realm without slavery, the rest would just have to follow suit. Also, he was glad that if there was a war, Silver would hopefully be far from the castle and safe out in the country. "Goodbye, Silver. Try to ask first before you offer to 'help' another one of your pets, though, okay?"

"I hope I won't have to anymore," the metallic-hued hedgehog replied with a smile. "Goodbye, Sonic. Please give my regards to Prince Shadow. And..." his tone dropped to a whisper.

"_...all Hail the future King!"_

To be continued..._  
_

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Heyyy there, hope you liked! Did I keep my promise of speedier updates or what? :P Am in Berlin right now and seriously hoping I'm still typing coherently because I'm sleep-deprived as hell...but yeah, got the chapter up nonetheless! I'm happy Scourge got such a warm welcome that the bastard seriously doesn't deserve. X3 Seriously, this fic just keeps on getting longer and longer when it isn't meant to! ^^° If you read, please review? :3


	40. Couches And Therapy

**Chapter 40: Couches And Therapy**

Shadow had been sitting on the couch for a while when Sonic finally decided to return.

"Yo," the collared speedster greeted his supposed Master and then plonked himself down on the proto-couch next to him, a veritable dust cloud emerging from the impact. "Silver sends greetings, by the way."

"Get down. You can't sit here," Shadow said, not as gruffly as usual, but still in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What?" Sonic asked irritably, frowning at his pretend owner. Shadow sighed.

"I _said_, get down," he repeated himself – and then, just to underline that statement, pinched the blue speedster rather forcefully into his petite tail. Sonic jumped up as if stung.

"Ow! What was that for?_!_" he demanded, one hand holding the abused appendage and already a light blush creeping onto his features again. Shadow smirked up at him.

"I told you. When we're in public, either you obey or I _make_ you."

"Yeah, right. Better be glad I have a strict no-strangling policy or else you'd be dangerously close," the blue hedgehog grumbled. "So what's this about me not sitting on the couch?"

"The only things you're allowed to sit on are the floor or your owner's bed - or lap - when he has given you permission," Shadow explained calmly, "Think about it as a 'no pets on the furniture' rule."

"What? But the floor is cold stone," Sonic protested. "That rule is totally unfair!"

"Yes, Sonic, I think we've been over the general 'totally unfair'-ness of this world already," the black hedgehog replied flatly, "And I can't do anything about it at the moment. Now why don't you be a good slave instead and fetch me a glass of wine and some food? _Without_ tripping the waiter this time?" Shadow asked just a tad smugly, amused at the indignancy flaring up in his unwilling pet's eyes as their little game of struggling for dominance flared up again.

"That wine, my Master, would land straight in your starfish-shaped face," Sonic retorted, dead-panning his supposed owner and glowering down at him. The Ultimate Lifeform (who had bristled at the sea food-related insult...) raised an eye ridge.

"You want me to hand you over to Scourge, I take it?" he asked - even if he knew very well that this hypothetical course of action would very likely result in a three-way hedgehog literal battle royale...

Sonic crossed his arms. "Fine. Do it and I won't need the couch anymore because I'll sit on that jerk's unconscious _body_ instead," he shot back, for a moment glaring over at the mentioned green hedgehog still the focus of everybody's attention at the centre of the hall.

The blue speedster looked back at Shadow. "So it all boils down to that I either freeze my butt off or can't sit down at all?" he asked, now sombre again and sounding rather unhappy at the prospect. Shadow tilted his head for a moment.

"Well...technically, I think I could also allow you to lie down next to me. I think it's mostly about your head being lower than mine, anyway."

"Lie down next to you?" Sonic repeated, sounding a bit uncertain for a moment as he hovered at his Master's side some more. Shadow could virtually see a brief inner battle behind his eyes as the collared hero's stubborn pride bridled at basically being designated a house cat but had to battle the blue speedster's simultaneous desire for comfort.

"We could be here a while," Shadow pointed out and had the reward of seeing Sonic's ears lowering themselves in defeat as his unwilling slave had to realize once more that in this case submission was really the easiest way to go. Sonic sighed.

"Fine. Scooch over," he said, lowering himself as he began to crawl onto the couch, but Shadow's hand stopped him once again.

"Wait. Take off your shoes first."

"Huh?" Sonic looked at him, surprised. "But then I'm..." he didn't finish the sentence.

"I need them. You know that," he said quietly instead.

Shadow nodded. "Yes. I know," he replied, looking into emerald eyes where that insecurity that was seen ever so rarely in the blue hero's countenance had just flickered past. "But you can keep them just below the couch. And it's not like you would be completely defenceless, is it?" the Ultimate Lifeform pointed out.

Sonic was forced to shake his head. "Well, no..." he trailed off. He knew himself that even without shoes that protected his feet from burning up from the friction heat when he ran, he was still plenty dangerous, just reduced to punches, kicks and spins. But if worst came to worst, he wouldn't be able to flee...

Shadow took a breath. "I can protect you."

Once again, there was a moment of silence following that statement. Shadow still remembered how Sonic had reacted the last time he had offered his protection, taking it as an insult aimed at his fighting prowess. But maybe this time...

"...I'll take your word for it."

Shadow looked up again and was rewarded with a slight smile on Sonic's lips. It was a faintly mocking one, to be sure, but also good-natured, and even more importantly, the black hedgehog could see there was genuine trust in those emerald eyes. Just like back at the pool, when Sonic had willingly let him put the collar on him, Shadow once again could feel how very much their relationship had changed ever since their first day in this strange world. Sonic didn't mind making himself vulnerable to the black hedgehog anymore, could slide effortlessly from the role of boisterous challenger and playful rival to someone entirely different, much more docile and yielding to Shadow, without once ever losing the indomitable spirit at his core that had let the Ultimate Lifeform fall in love with him in the first place.

"But I gotta warn you: You exploit this situation in any way, and I'll tell everyone about _your_ magical witch fire shoes and watch them burn you at the stake," Sonic threatened, at the same time finally removing his sneakers and crawling onto the couch, first lowering himself onto his belly and then rolling onto his side, so he could view the hall from his new vantage point. Slender blue legs were drawn up as the collared hero curled in on himself slightly, his head coming to lie next to Shadow's thigh, ears twitching as he tried to get comfortable and relaxed quills brushing lightly against midnight fur. Emerald eyes closed half-way when the blue hero grew more accustomed to his new position and let his head sink more deeply into the pillows.

"This isn't actually half-bad..." the speedster mumbled, perhaps the bulk of food in his stomach also making him drowsy. Shadow looked down at the splayed blue form, face unmoving but for the familiar quiet glow in his eyes that usually told those who knew him that the black hedgehog was pleased with something. In this case, it was simply the limpness of his supposed slave's quills, their passive state signalling the Ultimate Lifeform that Sonic truly was at ease around him (and therefore thankfully not tearing up the sofa when he shifted his weight). Next, though, emerald eyes already flew open again as Sonic suddenly could feel a gloved hand brushing over his neck just above his collar. He twisted his head to look up.

"Wha...?" he asked intelligibly, but Shadow merely gave a small smirk and continued the motions of his hand.

"Relax," he ordered. "I'm not doing anything apart from petting you."

"_Petting_ me?" Sonic asked, sounding slightly incredulous and also trying not to blush. Not that he didn't enjoy the sensation as such, but the idea of Shadow petting _anything _seemed as bizarre to the blue hero as the image of the Ultimate Lifeform starring in a tap-dancing musical.

"Well, why else would an owner allow their pet on the couch?" Shadow asked with his characteristic slight condescenscion, not voicing the other obvious answer of _because you would have bothered me until I did_. Sonic could feel the pressure of the hand on his neck increasing, forcing him gently down onto the couch again. The collared hero relented, letting himself be subdued and tried to relax.

"If you say so," he replied, attempting to sound as casual as possible. "S'pose it's only fair payback for the massage, when you think about it," he said, eyes not focused on anything as those gloved fingers began moving on his body again, travelling from his neck over his shoulder, brushing over his jaw and his cheek, caressing his back and his collarbone and then, just once, scratching him at his soft spot behind his ears in a way that let a shower of shivers wreck Sonic's body and it was all the blue hero could do not to groan or squirm with pleasure. The collared speedster could feel heat rising in his cheeks again, not because this was particularly embarrassing, but because...Shadow was acting so _gentle._ The black hedgehog had been nice before, of course, even friendly, but had never touched him so carefully, never with such...affection? It seemed a strange word to apply to the reclusive and ruthless dark hedgehog, yet Sonic couldn't describe it any other way. He was being groomed here, trying to keep still while the other's fingers raked through his fur and soothed him, letting his body yearn for more of that touch. There was no teasing going on, even, no attacks on his ticklish sides or some quick pinches as punishment for all the commotion he had already caused this evening. Instead, a sneak glance upward at Shadow's face revealed to Sonic only a calm serenity on the other's face, no expression but a gleam of content in his eyes as he returned Sonic's questioning quick gaze.

For once, the fastest thing alive wanted nothing more than to just close his eyes and keep lying here forever.

_Yeah, well, that or just until I get hungry. Whichever, _Sonic added in his mind when a servant carried a tray of particularly tasty-looking pastries past. Shadow's fingers were currently working their way along his flank and on a sudden instinctive response, Sonic was actually taken by surprise by his own body as he rolled over on his back in an almost involuntary reaction to give the other better access to his belly. Shadow seemed to take the hint and within seconds, the unwilling slave of the Crown Prince found himself subjected to the very first tummy rub he'd had since he could remember.

It took a _lot_ for Sonic to stop himself from uttering a sound not entirely unlike a purr.

_Ooooh...tell ya what, I don't even care anymore whether Black Dumb shows up or not. I just want Shads to continue this until his hand falls off. _

Sonic's eyes were closed in bliss now, the collared hero's hands by his side lightly clutching the fabric of the upholstery beneath him, only occassionally emitting some vague noises of enjoyment as he was getting his belly scratched. His only movements now were a relaxed rise and fall of his lean chest and an occasional nudge of his muzzle against his supposed Master's leg as a non-verbal communication and way of giving thanks. Yet a small voice in Sonic's mind couldn't help but wonder whether this wasn't only a direct repeat of a situation they had had just three days ago, when he had been strapped to a table in the dungeon and had had to endure Shadow painstakingly combing through his defencless backspines; de-quilling him as part of their charade while Sonic hadn't been able to do anything but lie there and try to concentrate on his breathing while his perceived owner wreaked this strange mixture of gentle pleasure and ticklish torture on him.

_Yeah, only difference is now it doesn't even need shackles to restrain you anymore, _it whispered in Sonic's head. _You've been tamed enough to take this without fighting back. You even roll over like a feral dog. _

"Something the matter?" Shadow asked at this point and for a moment ceased the motion of his hand, letting it rest on Sonic's belly as he looked down into his supposed slave's face. Sonic realized a scowl had started to form on his forehead in reply to those last, unbidden thoughts and he hurried to quickly smooth out his features again.

"No, nothing. Just getting impatient here for something to happen, s'all," the blue hedgehog covered up, feeling the small weight of Shadow's almost proprietorial hand on his stomach as his chest rose and fell when he spoke, but not minding the sensation. The black hedgehog nodded, seemingly satisfied at his words.

"My 'father' seems to be taking his time, yes. But so do the other royals supposedly invited," he muttered. "I'll award the Crown Prince title to the first clown in this circus dimension to invent something as simple as a _clock_."

"Mmh," Sonic agreed half-consciously, already almost too distracted by his continued belly rub to hold up his end of a conversation. Again he could feel his body reacting, hips bucking into Shadow's touch lightly, embarrassingly, before he could stop them, as if his entire subconscious was already wishing to be claimed by none other than the black hedgehog who was supposed to own him. Sonic could sense the heat rising into his cheeks as he even thought he was able to hear a light snicker from his pretend Master, apparently amused by his slave's inability to keep still under his caress. The blue speedster twisted his head to the side, if only to avoid having to look into Shadow's face again, emerald eyes instead roving over the assembled guests in the hall. Nobody was giving them a second glance at the moment, which Sonic guessed must have meant that his unwilling perfomance probably was considered to be a normal occurrence here. His gaze again fell onto Scourge at this point, the green lord still the centre of attention as he was showing Manic off to a bunch of ladies, his black-gloved hands alternatively roughly handling and then almost lovingly brushing over the young hedgehog's body. It pained Sonic to see how the other was obviously suffering under the treatment, but at the same time was still yielding to his bastard owner's touch, even straining to move in a more pleasing manner, begging to be caressed as if it was an innate need he could do nothing about.

Shadow's fingers at this point glided ever so lightly over the slight dip on the collared hero's abdomen where his navel was located and peach-furred fingers immediately clawed sharply into the cushions Sonic was lying upon, the hero of Mobius and supposed slave of the Crown Prince nearly failing to suppress a sharp intake of breath at the unsuspected sensation. He could feel his body temperature rising...

_Damn. How am I any different from Manic? _Sonic thought, his mind feeling foggier than a barrel of dry ice in a London steam cleaners. He was trying to keep his breathing under control, yet still offering his unprotected belly to Shadow, a part of his brain pleading to be subjected to ever more of this. Did this mean he was slipping ever further into this role this world was trying to force on him? Was Shadow aware of what he was doing to him? Sonic finally forced himself to swallow and when he spoke, he even managed a casual tone.

"Shadow..."

"Hm?" the black hedgehog replied absentmindedly, still staring off into space as if thinking over some other problem, only one of the black ears turning toward Sonic to show he was listening.

"You wouldn't _really_ want me...broken, would you? If you had the choice, I mean," Sonic added hurriedly, not wanting the other to get the idea as if that for some reason had suddenly become an option. The scratching on his belly ceased. The Ultimate Lifeform returned his attention to Sonic and looked down at the prone hedgehog splayed out before him, a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"Broken?"

"Yeah, like...Manic. Like any of those others here," Sonic said, voice laced with a hint of impatience as he still didn't exactly look at Shadow, wondering whether he was actually worried what the black hedgehog's answer might be. Shadow tilted his head, looking pondering for a moment.

"You mean, if I actually owned you and this wasn't just a charade. That you would actually obey me and do as I say? No inane stunts anymore that make me want to bang my head against the wall?" he asked back, apparently looking for clarification even though his face was not yet betraying any feelings. Sonic managed an unwilling shrug lying down.

"Yeah. I guess."

Shadow exhaled slowly. He wasn't exactly sure why Sonic was touching upon this topic now – although it could be that the blue hedgehog was simply bored because there was nothing to do – but he still wanted to give his supposed slave an honest answer. The Ultimaze Lifeform briefly tilted his head back, trying to imagine what it would be like if Sonic was truly submissive – not that he hadn't done that before already, mind you. He didn't deny he did find the image appealing in some ways – the constant availability, the energy he could save himself by not having to argue over every single little thing Sonic didn't agree with, the idea that the blue speedster could not simply rush off whenever he felt like it...but then he shook his head. Taking away Sonic's freedom would mean destroying him. And that was something Shadow felt like he never wanted to see happen. What use would it be to have the blue hedgehog constantly in your captivity, chained or caged, when even the most gentle caresses Shadow took such pleasure in giving his supposed slave would then probably turn into painful punishments for Sonic instead? For the fastest thing alive, having to be touched by the one depriving him of the freedom he lived for would undoubtedly mean suffering and worse...

Once, twice, in the dungeon and in the garden, Shadow had seen the pure fury and terror in Sonic's eyes when the blue hero had been restrained for real with no possibility of escape and it was something the Ultimate Lifeform had wished never to see again. He had also enjoyed pinning Sonic down on the bed, of course, but while frustrated, the blue speedster's expression then had actually looked quite different...

"Hey, I'm still talking to you. Did you actually ever wish you could make me...more like them? Would you want me to be like the real deal?" Sonic asked, poking him into his ribs and Shadow's mind snapped back into the present. He looked down at the hedgehog by his side, actually catching his gaze now. It surprised Shadow a bit, since Sonic's eyes actually seemed to contain a hint of insecurity as he looked up at him, almost as if the blue hedgehog was actually worried that Shadow _could_ make him submit if he wanted to, or that the black hedgehog's answer was important for another reason.

Shadow cleared his throat and then decided that the only thing he could possibly reply with was the truth, and it was quite simple indeed.

"I wouldn't want anything that makes you unhappy, Sonic."

There were a few moments of silence as the younger blue hedgehog blinked, briefly tilted his head as if to see whether there wasn't some sort of stinger still waiting after that initial remark, but when Shadow didn't say anything further, finally there spread a smile across the speedy hero's lips again, and Shadow quickly found himself the subject of another affectionate nuzzle nudge.

"Good answer," Sonic grinned up at him from below. "And now why don't you live by that principle and scratch my tummy some more?"

Shadow snorted, but still set his hand in motion again, the blue hedgehog again wriggling contentedly in response. Sonic for some reason now seemed a whole load happier than he had been when he had been forced to lie down a quarter of an hour ago, and that was good enough for the Ultimate Lifeform. Black ears flicked when the speedster's voice piped up again.

"Hey, Shadow. What are you looking forward to most when we get home again?" Sonic asked, his tone light and apparently just feeling like easy conversation this time. The black hedgehog once again paused, briefly drumming his fingers on the peach-furred belly as he sought an answer.

"...I don't know," he replied at last, which was true. His motivation for leaving this dimension wasn't so much that he missed their home world, but rather that he could stand this one even less – even if it had given him Sonic, which had made this last week one of the best he could remember...

"What about you?" he asked back instead.

"Toothbrushes."

"What?" Shadow once again thought he shouldnt be surprised anymore, but apparently random!Sonic-remarks were hard to build up a resistance to.

"Toothbrushes," Sonic repeated firmly. "By now my mouth feels as if something had crawled in there and then died of veneral disease. I am daydreaming about toothbrushes and toothpaste. And chili dogs, of course."

"Mouth hygiene and trash food," Shadow dead panned. "Silly me, and I had been thinking you might be missing your _freedom,_ or a system of democracy, or a lack of people wishing to torture you."

Sonic laughed at his tone. "Yeah, that too, I suppose," he replied with a grin, before continuing more seriously, "Nah, I think what I'm looking forward to most is seeing Tails again. It's been only a week, but it seems so much longer." His grin turned mischievious. "Also, I actually miss Knucklehead. It's a bit boring when I can't rile him up."

"Yes, I think I might have noticed a coping mechanism on your part there," Shadow replied dryly. Sonic chuckled and shifted his weight on the sofa.

"Maybe even Amy," he said at last. "She's annoying as hell sometimes, but I do like her. Plus, this version of her over here is _way _scarier. And the Chaotix. They're fun. And then I promised Cream I'd come over to take her to a mountain flower field at some point, I think..." he said, a bit of a far-away smile gracing his features as thought of his numerous friends and allies he had back home. He twisted his head. "And you?"

"...Rouge, maybe. Perhaps Omega, but other than that...no-one, really."

"...oh," Sonic said, not sure how else to reply. Shadow's voice had been quiet as he said this, the black hedgehog's eyes downcast as once more the differences of Sonic's cheerful, outgoing personality and affection for so many, and his own, bordering-on-the-sociopathic behavior were driven home. As soon as they got back, Sonic would have a lot of other people to care for and spend time with...

"I like living with Rouge," Shadow said, almost to himself. "But most of the time I'm...just alone."

Sonic blinked, stretching on the couch still under Shadow's touch. He wasn't sure what to make of what the black hedgehog had said just now, but it had sounded...slightly sad...

"When we get back," Sonic started, apparently looking for the right phrasing, "how would you like to – not be alone any more?"

Shadow looked back up at the collared hero, those words having washed over him like a warm wave. Sonic had just proposed that they could extend the relationship they had formed over here even when they got back, hadn't he? It hadn't been mere lack of another choice that he had eventually gotten closer to Shadow in their daily forced proximity here, he actually wanted to-?

"I'm sure the others would like to get to know you a bit better, too. It's not fair if me and Rouge are the only ones to see you as anything more than the Incredible Sulk," Sonic smiled up at him and only confirmed Shadow.

_He even wants me to get along with his friends..._

The Ultimate Lifeform could feel a sensation spreading out from his chest that he had not experienced since a long, long time ago. It was the feeling of belonging somewhere, with someone...

A gloved hand rubbed a flicking blue ear.

"Yeah. I think I'd like that."

Sonic smiled. "Cool," he simply replied, because that was everything that needed to be said. Instead, he rather preferred to shift back into his more relaxed position and let Shadow's fingers roam his pelt again, both hedgehogs now seeming thoroughly at ease.

Sonic sighed in content, relieved from his earlier worries. When that voice had warned him of turning into an actual slave, it probably had just been his over-the-top ego again and it was wrong. Shadow didn't want him broken, and the situation _wasn't_ the same as his forced de-quilling in the dungeon. _Because this time there's trust_, the blue hero thought. Because Shadow had assured him that he wanted Sonic like he was, that he did not have to change to be loved by the black hedgehog. Because this time there was...and again, Sonic had the feeling of mentally choking on the next word when he was supposed actually think it, even if Silver had spoken of it so easily. But then again, what else was he supposed to think, when those fingers brushed over his fur so carefully, manipulating his body in ways he hadn't thought possible for anyone else to know? In a way, this was actually even more intimate than what they had been doing last night – back then, their actions had been driven by lust more than anything else, but this was something else entirely...

Sonic once again could feel his body temperature rise and cheeks colour slightly as this _gentleness_ he was so unused to from Shadow threatened to let him become blue-coloured wax in the other's hands. He actually would have liked to grab the other's hand now, snake his own, ungloved fingers into his and then rise up from his position to climb on top of his supposed owner and ravage him, show him at least physically what he felt when he wasn't able to do it with words. But of course, as a slave he wasn't even allowed to rise from the couch without his Master's permission, much less claim his lips (or more). Sonic was almost bursting from his forced inactivity at this point, nearly ready to break every protocol imaginable and simply drag Shadow from the couch and out into the corridor so they could at last have some privacy – when suddenly, the doors were flung open and the frog doorman called out for all to hear:

"_Lords and Ladies: Our Holy Majesty Black Doom and His Royal Highness, King Maximilian of Acorn!"_

To be continued...

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Heyyyyy there! Heh, frequent updates or what? :3 Consider this part of my Christmas Fanfic Bonanza for December, conducted both here and on my other profile. ;) Not sure whether I'll manage a winter-themed sonadow one-shot, but instead you might just get more HIMM-chapters, so that's not a bad deal, I think. And lookit, Black Doom is here!

I know a coupla of you have complained about the pacing, and no worries, I can see where you're coming from. After all, a couple of you used such wonderfully illustrative imagery for similes how reading this story feels. XD All I can say is that the excessive talking and non-action nature of the last few chapters is due to...well, an event to occur fairly soon and when that hits our hedgies won't have time to talk anymore at all (well, almost) so anything that still needs to be settled (and set-up) for the action later kinda goes here. At least you don't have to wait ages anymore, right?;) That said, hope you're having a lovely pre-Christmas time (not religious here, but still a nut for festivities) and at the moment looking for cheery, fast-paced Christmas songs to add to my library. Any suggestions? I like everything from 'Wonderful Dream' to 'The Night Santa Went Crazy'. :P Oh, and if any of you are looking for a holiday-themed fic you're hereby invited to my 'All They Want For Christmas'. It's not exactly sonadow, but it's implied if you're wearing the shipping goggles. XD

Hope you liked and if you read, please review? :D


	41. Dance Dance Revolution

Hey there. Merry Christmas to all of you. :)

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**Chapter 40: Dance Dance Revolution**

"Finally!" Sonic and Shadow rose from the couch in one fluid, simultaneous movement, an action unnoticed by anbody in the hall, because at the same time, both large doors at the two ends of the hall had been opened and two processions entered. The crowd parted, revealing the red carpet connecting the entrances beneath their feet and looked on expectantly. Clothes were straightened, fur strands tugged away, a last few slaves hurriedly chased down and put on a leash again as everyone prepared to lay eyes on the two kings. Sonic could feel his heart beating faster, barely noticing how Shadow was attaching his own restraint again, the muscles in his legs tensing to rush forward, knowing he would be let go if he wanted to.

Then Shadow swore under his breath.

"Dammit. He still hasn't got it."

"_What?_" Sonic hissed back, looking at his dark-furred partner in disbelief. They were the only two people in the hall talking now, everyone else's attention caught up in watching the proceedings. Black Doom had entered the hall from the side of the throne, clad in more ornate robes than usual that reached down to the floor, concealing his lack of legs. On his head perched a bulging, black and red crown that shone wetly in the candle light and was encrusted with darkly shimmering precious stones, looking as if it had been dragged up from a cave underwater. Before him walked Lazar, carrying a small flag and a smug expression while being followed by four more servants holding some sort of brass instruments. They stepped aside and played a fanfare as Black Doom floated forward. From the other side neared what Sonic and Shadow presumed to be King Maximilian, who seemed to be a tall-grown squirrel of noble stature and expression, his light brown fur, white eyebrows and moustache immaculately trimmed. His clothes were less splendiferous than the alien king's, his blue uniform with the golden epaulettes and the silver sword more reminiscent of a highly decorated military commander than a royal but for the classic red velvet and white-rimmed cape he wore.

The lack of glamour on his part was more than made up for by his company, however; beside him walked another young squirrel (although she could have been a hybrid) who was a female and among the prettiest Sonic had ever seen. She had long auburn hair that appeared barely tamed by the braids put into it and instead flowed down her back elegantly. She was clad in a sky-blue long dress with a thin golden belt wreathed around her waist, but strode in a way that subtly suggested she was far from being as delicate and frail as she appeared. Her eyes were the same as her father's, as blue as deep water and as piercing as diamond, fixating her novel surroundings with quick, intelligent glances. Sonic took an instant liking to this Princess, and he could sense that Shadow at least considered this pair of royals worthy of a bit of his attention. They were accompanied by four armed warriors, led by a horse knight which seemed to be more of a formality, considering they were deep in another King's domain anyway. The two leaders stopped two metres in front of each other. Black Doom spoke first.

"I welcome you to my realm, King Maximillian," he rumbled, inclining his head the tiniest bit.

"I am grateful for your invitation," the male squirrel replied stiffly, forced to look upwards at the other. His daughter appeared scarcely less able to disguise her disgust at the monstrous' appearance of their host. "Let us hope it is for our countries' relationship's mutual benefit."

"I am sure it will be," Black Doom assured them. "After this dinner you should be more than convinced how unnecessary it would be to join Queen Aleena in her madness to eradicate our harmonious ways of living. But let us eat and drink first," he said, indicating the two throne-like chairs on one side of the hall at the left banquet table. "And perhaps your daughter Princess Sally would care for the company of my son tonight?" Black Doom shot a quick glance around the hall as he announced this, and Shadow realized that this was his cue and he stepped forward. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he sensed that apparently, his 'father' was far from giving up his marriage plans for him.

_Chaos. If I were the real prince, I'd be viewing patricide as self-defence by now. _

"It will be a pleasure," the Princess replied in her father's stead, her features carefully composed to conceal her true feelings. Shadow still thought he saw a flash of disapproval in her eyes as the crowd parted for him and her gaze not only fell on him but also on Sonic he still held on the leash. Nevertheless, she curtsied courteously.

"Prince Shadow. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Princess," Shadow merely replied, bowing in turn, Sonic making a compromise behind him and briefly lowering himself onto one knee. This seemed to conclude the ceremonial part, for Black Doom then announced that everyone was to be seated and the dinner should commence. Shadow and the Princess were directed to seats at the other end of the hall, opposite the chairs their respective fathers occupied. To Shadow's and Sonic's dismay, the chair on Sally's other side was immediately claimed by Scourge.

"A pleasure to meet you, Princess," the green hedgehog purred as he sat down next to her, his eyes flashing not much unlike Rouge's when she was in full pick-up mode. Shadow briefly wondered whether he should feel pity for the squirrel girl, first having to look at Black Doom before dinner and then immediately being set upon by what was probably this kingdom's resident molester, but he supposed he had enough of problems to care for himself, especially as Rouge sat down next to _him. _The slaves had no seats for them, but were mostly simply tied to the backs of the chairs and then sat at their owners' feet. Needless to say, Sonic was not pleased about having to sit on the floor after all, but at least complied. Servants streamed from side doors, delivering the steaming plates of food to the sitting nobles, the smell of fried meat and exotic spices delicious.

"So, Prince Shadow, your father and mine are debating an alliance," Princess Sally said coolly, obviously wanting to gauge his reaction.

"So one is told," the black hedgehog replied with some retardation, most of his thoughts occupied with trying to sense the Emerald anywhere, how they could attack Black Doom best from their current position - and what the hell Sonic was doing under the table. Scourge had bound Manic tightly enough to the leg of his chair that the poor hedgehog could barely move and Monkey Khan merely sat next to Rouge's leg dejectedly, but his idiosyncratic blue-furred pet hedgehog of course had grown bored in ten seconds and was now fidgeting around relentlessly, occasionally slipping under the tablecloth and vanishing from sight completely. Shadow made a mental note to buy some super glue the next time he needed Sonic to stay in one spot.

"So tell me, Prince Shadow," she said, not looking at him, her eyes half-lidded as she picked at some salad. "Your father is currently trying to convince my father that your system of slavery is justified as those enslaved have the minds of cattle. Is that your opinion also?"

"..." Shadow stopped mid-reach toward his fork. He wasn't sure how to reply – tell her the truth so the balance of power in the ensuing war would shift against Black Doom? Or lie, in case somebody was over-hearing their conversation and reported his deceit to his 'father' before they had been able to strike? Fortunately, somebody else took the decision from his hands.

"But of course it is, Princess," Scourge joined their conversation unbidden, "Everyone here knows that. Mostly they can't even talk properly, only howling and snarling like ferals." As if to demonstrate, he gave Manic at his side a shove with his foot and the poor hedgehog yelped, but did not say a word, merely looking at his Master like a hurt, literally kicked puppy afterwards. "See?" Scourge asked Sally, the squirrel now looking at him coldly enough to save this medieval dimension the invention of a refrigerator.

"Yes, I see pointless cruelty, General," she replied instead. "Please refrain from it in my presence."

"If you ask me so nicely, of course I will," the green hedgehog replied with a nonchalant grin, relaxing back in his seat, seemingly not put off at all. "But they don't really mind anyway. If you don't believe me, just wait until the demonstrations."

_Demonstrations? _Shadow's ears had perked up as he heard the word. What was Scourge talking about? Next, though, his contemplations were already interrupted.

"The festival wine has been prepared!" a voice proclaimed with grandeur as the doors were opened once again. Greytail entered in a somewhat less-worn tunic than usual, walking in front of a large, steampunkish-looking bronze metal cart contraption, which was pushed by a well-muscled pig. It consisted of a large basin, perhaps a metre across and filled with what might have been some sort of dark red wine, though its perfume hinted at more obscure ingredients as well. Over the liquid a burning lump of sugar was mounted on a skewer, the blue flames licking across the dripping crystal suggesting it might have been drenched with something more high proof. The most impressive feature, though, was the fire blazing on the lower level on the cart underneath the basin, red sparks dancing in the air as the wine was held on a near-boiling temperature.

Shadow ran a hand across his face.

"_Feuerzangenbowle_. As if this entire gig wasn't enough of a joke already," he muttered, although everyone else was eyeing the wine excitedly now and chattering in anticipation.

"The slaves may may now fetch the wine for their Masters and Mistresses!" Greytail announced, bowing to the assembly before then retreating behind the cart next to the pig and starting to line up a stack of extensively ornate golden cups so they could be filled. Shadow glanced around as various collared Sapients around them rose to their feet and were untied from their Masters' chairs, before then shuffling in a silent, eerily robotic procession forwards. He quickly released Sonic so the blue speedster could stand up and move with the others.

Scourge leaned over to Sally. "Ah, Princess, you're in for a treat. Apart from our quaint customs and pets, our kingdom is also famous for its spiced, mulled wine. You look as if you would enjoy...spicy things," he said again with a rakish undertone and a cocky grin that could almost have made him look attractive if it hadn't been for the predatory and slightly demonic gleam in his coldly burning eyes. Almost like Sonic and yet so different...the Princess didn't seem as if she would even grace that line with a reply. Scourge didn't need one. "But you seem to have no pet of your own to bring you a cup. Let me rectify this for you. _Manic!_" he barked the last word, the youngest hedgehog in their midst (if you discounted that Shadow was biologically seven years old, anyway...) flinching to attention.

"Y-yes, Master?"

"Bring two cups of wine, will you? Pick an extra pretty one for the lady."

"This slave will do so," Manic assured his owner hastily, inclining his head and then falling in line with the other collared Sapients, Sonic (who had watched the proceedings with distaste) following suit.

"Fetch him wine. Hah. Instead of sending you, that slacker should get off his olive ass and do it himself," Sonic whispered, only loud enough for Manic to hear. "I bet he hasn't had to walk or work once in his spoiled life..."

"Tha-that isn't true," Manic hissed back, Sonic pleased to note that the younger one was still brave enough to at least break the rules a little bit when it came to talking to him, "My Master is his Majesty's finest general and one of the strongest warriors in the kingdom. They say he crossed the Great Plain once in a single day, alone, when troops of Queen Aleena appeared on the border where he had been posted and he was able to alert the Palace to send soldiers to drive them back," Manic protested. Sonic's eyes narrowed as he heard this, his gut feeling now justified that the other wasn't just talk. He shrugged as they shuffled forward in line with the other collared Sapients.

"Yeah, well, doesn't excuse him from being a total douchebag."

"...what did you call him?" Manic actually turned his head now, looking at Sonic a bit taken aback.

"A douchebag," the blue hedgehog repeated. "He treats you like his personal sl...actually, nevermind – but he also hits on nearly every girl around without caring how you feel about it. I've seen those looks you shot him," Sonic said, having felt pity for the younger hedgehog every time his owner had ignored him.

Manic shook his head. "No, I mean...what is a douchebag?"

"Uh..." Sonic suddenly seemed a bit lost for words as he visibly floundered. "Uhm...I think it has something to do with, er, girls. And showers. Maybe. I think there's a pump involved. I actually don't exactly – look, it _means_ he is a complete jerk, okay?" he asked, just a tiny bit flustered at the holes in his supposedly superior 21st century knowledge. Manic looked at him, apparently even more confused now as he tried to imagine how girls, sudden rainstorms, non-defined bags and the water pumps he had seen at mills fit together in a coherent, non-painful image, but then they had already reached the wine cart and were forced to end their conversation.

"This slave needs a second cup for his Master's company," Manic stated meekly, looking at the floor when it was his turn, and Greytail filled two of the golden grails with the steaming liquid, handing them both to the young hedgehog. Sonic followed with a "Just one, please," (and of course received the usual disapproving glance for his trouble) but nevertheless managed to obtain one of the cups as well, quickening his strides to catch up with Manic on their way back again.

_Fetching Shadow a drink. Huh. Well, if we were at a bar, this would technically make him the girl,_ Sonic thought as he looked at the fruits of his expedition he carried and couldn't suppress a snort. Once again, he couldn't help but feel that it was kind of nice to do something for the black hedgehog, just wished Shadow would know he would also do it if nobody was forcing him like here...

They had almost reached the place were Scourge, Sally, Shadow and Rouge were sitting in that order, Monkey Khan just having arrived back before them, also toting a golden cup and now lowering himself onto his knees, presenting Rouge with the drink which he held in both hands, head bowed down and muttering something along the lines of "This slave presents you your drink, Mistress," but judging by the tone, it could as well have meant "I hope the wine contains a living rat and you die from food poisoning."

Sonic and Manic had already passed a couple of other slaves kneeling and presenting their owners with the beverages and the collared hero's heart sank as he could already guess that this might be the customary position for this ceremony and he was not looking forward to having to do this.

"Hey, do we all have to kneel down or is that optional?" he asked Manic in a whisper as they were waiting for Ken to finish so they could pass and proceed to their own Masters. Once again the younger green hedgehog shot Sonic a slightly disbelieving stare.

"Of course we have, that's the standard slave position to offer anything to your Master. How can you not know that? You said you were a Wild, but when were you even captured?"

"Last Thursday, actually."

"What_?_!"

Manic gawked at him with yet another baffled expression, but before Sonic and could explain (and maybe prompt the younger hedgehog to ask whether he had perhaps nipped a bit too much at the rum-spiked wine they were carrying), Rouge finally deigned to take the goblet out of her monkey's furless hands, smiling and ruffling his headfur a bit with the other.

"Why thank you, Ken. Sit, now, and make some room for Prince Shadow's and the general's pets to move through, okay?"

"Certainly, Mistress..." Khan grumbled, reluctantly lowering himself into a sitting position at Rouge's side again so Sonic and Manic could step past. Not a moment too soon, too, as Sonic would be glad if Shadow could finally take the cup out of his hands – whatever metal it consisted of, it channelled the heat of the near-boiling wine very quickly and was already getting rather uncomfortable to hold without gloves, and would probably turn painful shortly. For Manic it was probably even worse, since he couldn't even change hands with the cup.

"Why doesn't the wine get served along with the food? And why do you have to chase your slaves around to do it? This seems like a lot of unnecessary commotion and a waste of time," Sally's voice was heard, the Princess actually sounding more like a military commander in a war room complaining about a lack of efficiency and common sense, as if even in the midst of this twisted kingdom she still couldn't entirely switch off her sense of logic. Scourge shook his head, sighing akin a grown adult who once again had to explain things to the little girl.

"The atmosphere counts, my Princess," he said as it was now Manic's turn to kneel down and hold up both cups to proffer them to his owner. Scourge didn't seem to make any attempt to take them yet, though, rather continuing his lecture to his squirrel neighbour. "Nearly every beverage tastes sweeter if it is submitted to you by an endearing pet that longs to serve you, and goes to any lengths to do so. For example, look here," he said, ignoring a subtle whimper from Manic at this point as he bent forward and seemed to take genuine delight in pointing something out to the Princess. "The cups are, at this point in time, rather hot too hold. Still, a slave is not allowed to rise from this position until his Master has accepted whatever he's offering," he explained, still giving off an air not unlike Sonic when he had found something curious and was now showing it enthusiastically to Tails or Shadow, which somehow made the display even worse. Sally began to look appalled as it crept up on her what the point of this presentation was and none but Shadow even thought to look up at Sonic who at the moment still stood behind the kneeling Manic and the seated nobles, his eye ridges now drawing together like the thunderclouds before a storm. His cup had gotten too hot for prolonged skin contact a few moments ago and consequently, he was balancing it on the flat of his hand now, where the fingerless black leather glove protected his palm, but he could guess what kind of pain Manic was in.

"General Scourge, I want you _this very moment_ to-" Sally began, but once again, Scourge interrupted her. "Ah-ah, Princess, you're here to learn our ways, I hear," he said with a smug grin. "So learn; nobody is forcing him, but he is enduring this discomfort because he longs to serve me anyway. Our pets are happy with their treatment."

"Master...pl...please..." Manic begged at this point, almost to silent to be heard, the cups in his fingers now trembling but still he didn't dare get up.

"Imagine soldiers this loyal, Princess. Imagine servants that diligent. I don't think any of your employees would ever be this devoted."

And then a single wet drop appeared on the stone beneath Manic's face and suddenly, things went very fast.

"I heard your mother was murdered by a traitorous castle guard," Scourge said to Sally, before then actually laying a black-gloved hand on her knee, the other on his chest. "Believe me, if that guard had been one of _my_ slaves, personally trained by me, such an action would have been impossible for him. They don't know the _meaning_ of disobedience. And all of this pain you could have been spa-"

At which point Sonic stepped around very neatly around the kneeling Manic, ever so accidentally tripped over the younger one's foot, and one serving of boiling hot wine poured very adroitly straight in Scourge's lap.

xxx

"Hi again," Tails began the conversation timidly as he was now alone with Sonic in a room. "You don't have to be afraid," he said, feeling slightly weird to say this to the Mobian who had been his hero as long as he could remember, "I just want to ask you a few questions."

The other nodded, even if he was still staring at the floor. He also seemed curiously stubborn to remain sitting on the carpet instead of the seat.

"Have you maybe been reading some...different comic books recently?" Tails asked. The other shook his head.

"No, I am not able to read," he said quietly. Tails crossed his arms.

"Right, and this is another lie. Don't try to make up stuff, you know I can always tell when you're not straight with me."

"What?" For the first time, emerald eyes snapped up to actually look at him, even if wide in fear and shocked surprise. "But you can't, only my Master can-" He paused. "Tails..."

The young fox' heart skipped a beat.

"You remembered my name! Is finally something coming back to you?" he asked excitedly, throwing the sheet away. Sonic only appeared ever more confused, finally pointing at something behind him.

"Uh, no, I just...noticed your tails. You've got two of them," he pointed out helpfully. Tails' shoulders sagged.

"...yeah. I kind of knew that."

"They're very interesting," Sonic assured him. "When you were born, did your village assume you were a bad omen sent by the gods?"

Tails was pretty sure that if his namesakes had been able to sweat-drop, they would have done so now.

xxx

"_AAAAAAAAAAAH-!_"

At the moment, most of the guests present were agreeing that they probably had never heard a general scream so loudly, or this high-pitched.

"Master!" Manic yelled, finally able to put the goblets down and rush to his owner's aid, proffering a serviette. "What can this slave do to help you?" he asked, looking genuinely distressed.

"Fetch me some ice, idiot! Or cold water!" Scourge yipped, and the green-furred hedgehog nodded and obediently rushed off, which was a relief to Sonic – at least, carrying the ice would mean balm to the poor hedgehog slave's burnt hands.

"YOU!" Of course, Scourge now turned his attention straight to him.

"Oh no, this slave is so incredibly sorry," Sonic shook his head with a mock expression of distress, generally giving a performance unworthy of fifth-grade school theatre, while two seats away, Shadow seemed busy having slight shell-shock syndrome, "Would your greeniness prefer new clothes? This slave suggests perhaps re-using some of the tailfeathers you forced onto your poor hedgehog - seeing as you already seem to have a peacock-complex anyw-"

This was as far as he came before Scourge had already rushed forward and grabbed Sonic on his collar, yanking him off his feet so harshly, the blue hedgehog nearly choked for a moment. Still, even as he was pulled into his enemy's face, he didn't fight back, merely letting himself be manhandled and instead put a little more effort into his pleading, actually adding a little over-acted fear now.

"Uh, please don't hurt this slave, it - it was an accident, this one swears!"

"_You_," Scourge snarled again, "I knew from the start there was something wrong with you."

"No!" Sonic protested. "This slave tries, really, wants to please the Master, swears to serve the Master - "an idea seemed to strike him and he turned his head to the other side, "-but evil hobbitses made us do it, yes, yes!"

There was a bit of wtf-silence from Scourge's side, accompanied by with an appropriate facial expression, and then a head-desk noise from Shadow, who just seemed to have overcome his BlueScreen-moment.

But then Scourge drew his sword. He held it at Sonic's throat. The blue hedgehog had stopped acting now and was merely glaring up into captor's face again, emerald eyes full of righteous anger. He wasn't yet making a move to physically confront scourge, though his body had tensed when the blade had been drawn. "Right. You think this is funny," the noble snarled, "Obviously, you have never been punished enough to learn that it isn't. So, I think I need to rectify that - I am going to hurt you. Right here, right now. But I am not going to kill you. I am going to boil you alive, bit by bit, until even your tongue is too swollen to scream. Do you want to beg some more?"

Shadow rose in the background, apparently ready to step in before Scourge could fulfil his promise, but was cut off by another voice.

_"General Scourge, I ask you to stop this at once!_"

"What?" the green hedgehog turned around, sword still at the side of the other's neck and seemed severely irritated by this sudden interruption from Princess Sally, who had now risen from her chair.

"He stumbled. It was an accident. You can't execute him for that, it could happen to anybody!"

"Princess, that is the beauty of slavery. I can. Instant justice," Scourge replied coolly, and Sonic had a feeling that if this guy had owned an anachronistic pair of sunglasses, he would right now have looked over their brim at the squirrel girl. Princess Sally crossed her arms.

"Harm a hair on that poor, terrified slave's head in my presence and I won't speak a word with you as long as I live."

"Wha – but Princess!" the green hedgehog protested, Sonic again privately thinking that the general probably would have added a 'That is _so_ not cool!' if he had only known slang he had been born 400 years too early for.

Shadow, meanwhile, could only blink as he began to realize that his impossible slave had probably calculated on the squirrel's intervention into his untimely death even before he had poured the wine into Scourge's lap, which was why he had been so relaxed the entire time. Right now the Ultimate Lifeform was very unhappy that all alcohol in question had already been spilled.

"I don't approve of pointless cruelty, general," Princess Sally stated, her voice sounding sharp and firm enough that an entire horde of rampaging Vikings hearing it probably would have apologized for their behaviour and started cleaning up the village, "I request you let this slave go and resume your place at this table. There will be no bloodshed this night in my presence."

_Heh, quite the queen material, _Sonic couldn't help but think a bit smugly, as the choke-hold on his collar was released and the sword sheathed again – not without cutting the side of his neck ever so slightly as if by accident, of course. Scourge shot him a look of pure poison and then turned around to the Princess again, now ignoring Sonic entirely.

"Very well. For you, my Princess, because I have a soft spot. But you should know I'm going out of my way, here."

"It is appreciated," the ground squirrel replied primly, the formality of her speech once again clashing sharply with the coarse language of the general obviously not used to High Society. Manic had just returned with some towels soaked in cold water and Scourge took them considerably quicker this time, applying them to the burned spots with a bit of a wince. Fortunately, the commotion seemed to die down again now, especially since nearly nobody had noticed anything up to the point where Scourge had howled like a feral cat trapped in a car wash machine anyway, and the dinner could continue; the only difference that Rouge now occasionally tipped Scourge on the shoulder and then gave a rather squeaky imitation of someone getting something hot poured onto their crotch. The green hedgehog glared daggers at her in response, while Sonic mostly broke into snickering underneath the table every time, and even Shadow couldn't suppress a small smirk. Of course, the thing that delighted the hero of Mobius the most was that Monkey Khan also seemed to derive some amusement from the antics of his Mistress and even Manic had to give a small, nervous giggle at least once.

Soon after, a steaming steak was placed in front of Shadow and the Ultimate Lifeform, starving for days now, had trouble to keep the saliva from pooling in his mouth as he neared the thing with his knife...

"Hey!" a hiss came from below. "Feed me, I'm hungry!"

"You had something before," Shadow protested, glad nobody was paying them any attention right now. "Besides, after what you did before the only thing you deserve would be a helping of whatever pills they give clinically insane maniacs and a side dish of valium." At his side, Sonic was pouting up at him.

"I had a plate full of starters, but that was my first food since yesterday morning. I need more."

"Yeah, well, you're not going to get any."

As a response, the next thing he knew, Sonic's head was in his lap.

"_What the hell are you doing?" _

Shadow shifted forward with a jerk, so the tablecloth could cover his legs and Sonic atop them. The blue hedgehog had to hold back a laugh - so far, he had rarely had the pleasure of seeing Shadow's eyes widen in true panic. He shifted his weight a little, now kneeling next to his supposed Master's chair, tan arms folded on a black leg and the blue hedgehog's head lying atop them.

"Oh, you know..." Sonic whispered quietly, at the same time idly doodling a line on his pretend owner's thigh with a finger, "Just wondering what a pet has to do to get some food at the table."

"Stop...it...!" Shadow commanded under his breath, trying to kick his legs to shake Sonic off, but without attracting attention. He ground his teeth as he thought he could hear a giggle from under the table.

"My Prince, are you alright?" Rouge asked from the side as she noticed her royal friend squirming at her side and Shadow took a deep breath as he tried to compose himself enough to answer her – which unfortunately was the exact point when Sonic had decided to lean forward a little and give a teasing lick over the Ultimate Lifeform's hip bone.

There were several heads that turned as the heir to the throne effortlessly crushed the wine glass he had just held in a spasm of his hand.

"_Gah_!"

"Um...apparently not?" Rouge suggested, now looking more than concerned when Shadow now seemed to have trouble breathing and also had a faint touch of red on his cheeks.

"It's...nothing..." he managed. "I just...spilled my food..."

"What? You destroyed your glass, but your food is still-" the bat pointed out, but was interrupted when Shadow deliberately moved his hand and brushed the plate in front of him off the table and onto the floor.

"Butterfingers. Now I did. I think I'm not myself today," Shadow apologized (entirely truthfully) in a dead-pan tone. Fortunately, it also meant that because his neighbours were so busy staring at this outlandish behaviour of their resident Prince, that nobody noticed the tan-furred hand shooting out from under the tablecloth, catching the plate before it could hit the floor and then promptly disappearing again. When a servant quickly arrived to clear off the mess and bring new food for Shadow, Sonic had already sat himself next to Shadow's side again, now looking a lot more content than before. The fact that a very frustrated Shadow twisted his ear rather forcefully as soon as things had quieted down again let the blue hedgehog wince in pain, but he still couldn't suppress a small grin afterwards, even if he had just been punished. After all, Sonic had endured much worse than getting his ear yanked and he didn't begrudge his supposed Master the little revenge.

"Prince Shadow, I already asked General Scourge to refrain from abusing your...slaves...like this without reason. I would kindly beg of you to honour this request as well, for my sake, if not for his," Sally's voice interrupted their little play-fight, and Shadow was all at once confronted with a cool blue stare from this Princess that spoke as courteously as a court maiden, but with an undertone of a warrior's steel. The Ultimate Lifeform thought he could see a fire blazing in those eyes that told of a compassion she felt for the collared Sapients that was as great as Sonic's. At the moment it still seemed overshadowed by an even greater self-discipline though, even if her sense of justice might have been screaming inside.

"Yes, Princess Sally. I apologize if I have disturbed you," Shadow said curtly, trying to finally focus on his fresh plate of food. The whispered comment dripping with melodrama of 'See? Finally someone points out the daily cruelties you heap on me!' from below already made him want to use his fork to stab something entirely different than potatoes, of course.

"I wish they'd start the show already," Scourge said, supporting his chin with one hand and poking the rest of food on his plate with a spoon. "I don't feel very entertained, and those incompetent musicians back there ain't helping."

He was, of course, referring to the Chaotix who were currently playing just like their name suggested – the result rather painful to listen to and Shadow was still wondering which one of that group of comedians had had the insane idea to give _Charmie_ the damn cymbals.

"I hate Scourge, but he has a point. They're great guys, but currently they're making my ears bleed," Sonic mumbled from below. He had spied the Chaotix earlier already, but hadn't been able to greet them as he had already been on Shadow's leash again at this point. Shadow hadn't yet told Sonic of their actual identity as undercover agents for whatever cause either, mostly because that would have simply spiked his supposed slave's curiosity. At the moment the troupe would have to watch out that Black Doom would refrain from killing them for their torture of innocent instruments, anyway...

"Lords and Ladies!" the voice of the alien king rang out through the hall at this moment, and the music (read: the noise) ceased like the conversations as their horned ruler rose from his chair. "King Maximilian is honouring the court with his attendance tonight and I trust he finds the festivities to his liking!" he proclaimed and there was a courteous applause. "The future of our way of life must be assured and thus, we will present it to him with all the splendour and richness our traditions yield. I hereby command the Presentation to begin!" Black Doom's distorted voice boomed and immediately, there began some movement in the back of the hall. So far, Shadow had assumed that the deep red curtain that was covering the back wall was merely there for decoration, but now it was pulled aside to the left and right to reveal a stage – a wooden construction with actual wings off to both sides and another door in the back where performers presumably could enter and exit. There were little gasps from here and there in the audience from attendants who obviously hadn't seen it before and appreciative murmurs. Shadow's expression turned slightly sour when what happened next was none other than Lazar climbing the stairs at the side and positioning himself in the center, holding up a scroll as if he was going to hold a speech now. The Ultimate Lifeform idly wished that there was a lever somewhere he could pull so the purple lizard's performance would find a rather abrupt end involving a stage trapdoor.

"What? What's going on?" hissed Sonic, who was unable to see anything due to his lower viewpoint. Shadow shushed him into silence, and when Lazar began to speak, the blue hero would have had to have been deaf to be unaware of the most recent development.

"Welcome!" the purple reptile proclaimed, yellow eyes gleaming and black, forked tongue flicking in delight, "To thisss mosst recent pressentation of our nation'ss prowesss."

Princess Sally's head turned as she wondered why not only did this presenter seem to have a speech impairment, but also where the two nearly simultaneous groans had just come from at her side.

"Tonight our performerss will sshow you what wonderss can be achieved when a body can be sshaped by sssuperior mindss, when the life of a lowly creature can be put to usse to create sssomething outsstanding when otherwisse itss feral exissstence would have been meaninglesss and wassted. Thosse that we keep ass workerss, thosse that we keep asss petss – for their happinesss much more than for ourss – will entertain you during thiss evening asss their Massterss have worked relentlesssly to train them for your viewing pleassure!"

"Oh no...the poor things..." Shadow heard Sally whisper next to him as a polite applause ensued while the curtain was briefly lowered again to prepare the stage for the first performers. The black hedgehog couldn't say he was looking forward to this spectacle either. He finally wanted to lay his hands on that Emerald and was getting frustrated that Black Doom apparently wasn't planning on showcasing it any time soon, at the least not before this very literal circus was over. Scourge used the Princess' distress to lay a clutching hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you worry your beautiful head, Princess. It will be entertaining, I promise. And you would do well to show your appreciation, because afterwards, his Majesty will also grace us with a demonstration of our latest prowess in martial power, a weapon like you have never seen one before." He grinned. "To put it bluntly, when your esteemed father sees this, he will be _sure_ to agree to the alliance, as anything else would be madness. And don't you know, perhaps you would care for some relations with our kingdom, too..." he let the sentence trail off suggestively, and only smirked broader when the female squirrel knocked his hand off her shoulder by pretending to adjust her hair and only accidentally ramming her elbow against his arm.

"I'll let you know when that time comes," she said frostily. "For now, I think I would prefer relations to those that you claim mindless beasts over anyone at this table."

"Fiery, isn't she?" Rouge chuckled at Shadow's side, the two of course having overheard the exchange. "Reminds me a bit of Queen Blaze, that one. I for one wouldn't mind if she put down that obnoxious general some more..."

"Quite," Shadow replied, still not actually looking at Rouge, but knowing that Sonic's heart was probably beating faster in tune with his own now. Finally they had been given a date when they would strike!

"Honoured attendantsss, the firssst perfomer!" Lazar announced at this point, the curtain being drawn aside again as the stage was now filled with what looked like the hoops and pedestals of a circus show. "He hass captured the exotic beauty of the southern jungless, jusst for you to feasst your eyess upon it! Pleasse enjoy thiss triumph of mind over feral matter! For you – Snively the Tamer!"

Sonic wondered for a moment why Shadow for a moment seemed to become chalk white under his fur, but then visibly relaxed again – it was a mounting source of annoyance for the blue hedgehog not being able to see what was happening on stage. "What are they doing?" he hissed.

"Not much yet," Shadow whispered back. "So far it's just an aardvark on stage and he looks seriously mangy. But I'm warning you, I'm not keeping up a running commentary," the black hedgehog muttered, still not able to tear his gaze from the stage. Snively the Aardvark not only had his species' characteristic long snout more than reminiscent of an absurdly long nose and bald patches on his head, but was also wearing a broccoli-green linen shirt that was probably the closest equivalent this dimension had to a cotton turtle neck sweater.

_If I didn't know any better, I'd swear this world is just one giant attempt to screw with my head._

Nevertheless, Shadow had no further chance to puzzle over current events as the show then began in earnest and a large cage was pushed on stage, containing a tiger – but it was a Sapient.

"Lords and Ladies, may I introduce you to my pride and joy; once feral king of the jungle, now tamed king of the arena – Rajah!" the aardvark shouted as he simultaneously opened the door and the tiger leapt out of it, giving a roar – or attempting to, anyway. To Shadow, who had heard actual feral tigers roar, creatures far more magnificent and about ten times as heavy as your average Mobian, it sounded rather pitiful, but was obviously enough to impress the audience.

Rajah was a young male, perhaps in his early twenties with broad shoulders, an angular face typical for his species and slender hips, but not wearing any clothing apart from his silver collar, as if to emphasise his supposedly feral state and that was probably also the reason why he was still moving on all fours. Shadow's eyes narrowed as he saw the collared Sapient leap onto one of the pedestals, though and noticed something odd about his spine...

_It's deformed. I don't know whether they forced it into such a state or whether they've just had him walk on all fours for his entire life, but he probably couldn't even walk upright if he tried._

The aardvark's whip cracked and the tiger slave leapt through the first of the hoops, re-enacting a distorted version of a circus act Shadow had seen on human television shows aboard the ARK time and time again before. Except that this was even more cruel and the movements of its wretched protagonist appeared pained from his unnatural state...

"What is going on? I want to see!" Sonic twisted his head on the floor, trying without avail to look around the chairs and tables in his way.

"No," Shadow replied quietly, tonelessly. "You don't."

It got worse. The tiger was forced to jump through fire hoops that first scared and then burned him, Snively joking about his supposed 'feral stupidity' and the cries of pain of the Sapient were only made more dreadful when one thought he could hear the occasional intelligible word torn from abused lips amid the roaring. The assembled crowd seemed to love it, though. Shadow could only make out a few other faces apart from his own and Sally's that weren't amused.

The next number consisted of a sort of ballet performed by two siamese cat twins who Lazar announced as unparalleled in the gracefulness of their swaying steps – and Shadow never told Sonic that their feet had been bound. After that, it was another large cage that was moved onto the stage; it was shaped like an old-fashioned aviary...and it also contained an actual bird.

"Pleassse perk your earss for Wave the Ssswallow, honoured attendants!" Lazar announced grandly, "Having been raissed and kept in thisss cage for her entire life, her owner hass trained her to be the perfect ssongbird – a voice more beautiful than that of any sssentient singer, to be ssure, ssince sshe hass been trained relentlessssly – an imposssible feat if she hadn't been born a sslave, I'm ssure you would agree."

He exited the stage, and the purple-feathered feisty mechanic and member of the Babylon rogues who had given them so much trouble in their world did not even look after him, her blue eyes appearing like murky, dead waters. Only when she sang, it was as if one could watch the beauty of a soul briefly flying.

Shadow thought he even recognized the song – it was an old tune, one which his creator, Professor Gerald Robotnik had occasionally listened to because it had been a popular one when he had still been a young man. The black hedgehog briefly wondered how it was not only people, but apparently also things like ideas or art could exist in two worlds at once, but then supposed it didn't matter. He wondered whether it was deliberate cruelty to make her sing that song in particular, though...

"_White bird,_

_in a golden cage_

_on a winter's day, _

_in the rain..."_

She sang, only briefly pausing for breath and nearly all talking had ceased in the hall while even the slaves were listening now, ears of all shapes straining.

"_White bird,_

_dreams of the aspen trees,_

_with their dying leaves,_

_turning gold..._

_But the white bird just sits in her cage,_

_growing old..."_

Wave's voice sounded a lot softer than in their dimension, truly a master singer. Shadow thought he could even see some tears pool in the squirrel princess' eyes, but they stemmed from sadness at the girls fate and less from the perfection of her song as it neared its end.

"_The leaves blow,_

_across the long black road,_

_to the darkened skies,_

_in its rage - _

_White bird must fly...or she will die...!"_

There was a moment of silence as she had finished and then a clatter of applause, the Ultimate Lifeform able to tell how appalled the princess of Acorn had to be at this point. The song of the bird girl deprived of her freedom had probably broken her heart and yet these people wouldn't even now see the depravity of their system. At his feet, Sonic's gaze had darkened considerably like the skies in the song, the collared hero having been unable to see what had been going on, yet had heard enough.

"A wonderful sshow and ssurely a hard one to follow," Lazar had taken center stage again as the cage was moved back into one of the wings, Wave sitting in it motionlessly like a wind-up toy whose key had run out of turnings. "However, I have every confidence that the next performance will ssimply be exsscellent – " Lazar said, before shooting an almost predatory grin straight into the direction they were sitting in. _"Prince Sshadow himsself and hiss newly acquired hedgehog Wild!"_

The Ultimate Lifeform's face could have been chiselled in stone.

"What."

"You participate in this? Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised," Sally said next to him, now appearing similarly disgusted with both her neighbours.

"What?" Shadow asked again, slightly overtaxed at the moment.

"Go up there and give them a show they won't forget, my Prince," Rouge encouraged him. "After all, you've been telling the whole court for weeks it'll be something special."

"_What_?"

"Oy! Get a move on!" Sonic hissed from below and that finally prodded the black hedgehog back into action. He stood up mechanically, took up Sonic's leash from his backrest and began to walk past the clapping nobles toward the stage as if in a dream – or rather a nightmare.

"This is a disaster," he hissed, "We'll have to make our move now, leave them here standing and try to find the Emerald in the castle before they catch us. We can't get out of this otherwise."

"No," Sonic disagreed, "We won't ditch our plan so close to our goal. They wanted a show, I'm gonna give it to them."

"What_?_!" Shadow hissed again. "You can't! No matter the fact that we haven't planned anything at _all_, if you show anyone your speed publicly we lose any element of surpr-"

"Who's talking about a show based on speed?" Sonic asked back. "You make it sound like that was my only talent," he said, his face an expression of mock hurt. They were climbing the wooden stairs now and the applause was rising to a crescendo, fortunately completely concealing Sonic's words when he spoke the last phrase aloud. "No, Shads. Tonight, Sonic the Hedgehog's gonna _dance_."

And with that, the hero of Mobius all but dragged a horrified Ultimate Lifeform (who did very much not need to see the sonic-fied version of _Aida_) on stage. He grinned.

"Now tell them I need music."

xxx

"Look, I'm pretty sure someone, somewhere, is having it worse," Knuckles tried to cheer Tails up as they were all three of them sitting outside the counseling rooms in Ebony's office again. The kitsune only buried his face in his hands.

"Well, could you find out anything?" the black cat asked, looking at their review sheets again, or at least on the fox' one. Of Knuckles' there wasn't much left.

The echidna shook his head. "No, not much. Only that he has a real mean left hook," he said, at the same time holding his bruised eye. Ebony briefly wondered how well 'Patient might have been to boxing classes' would look on her report and felt her heart sink when she realized that all her other findings weren't much more helpful, either. Tails ran a hand through his headfur.

"Well...I got Sonic to admit that he lied about his childhood in a village, at least. But he still wouldn't tell me what he considers the actual truth."

"Hm, if we knew that we might make some progress," Ebony mused. "Whatever false memories he is instinctively trying to conceal could hold the key to the reason why he needed to delve into this fantasy world in the first place."

"Yeah, but I don't think he is going to tell us. He just went on and on how that would jeopardize Shadow."

"He told you this? He mentioned Shadow by name?" the cat asked. Tails shrugged.

"Well, not by name exactly, but unless this gets any weirder and there's a time-travelling police box in front of my window, I'm going to assume that when 'the Master' is mentioned he refers to Shadow," the young fox sighed wearily. "And if you ask me, the fact that he's saying _Shadow_ of all people would need protection from anything but access to razor blades, it only proves he's even more out of touch with reality than we thought."

Knuckles scratched his head. "You know, the one thing I was actually surprised about when fighting Shadow in the room is that he wasn't actually that hard to overpower. He didn't use a Chaos Spear or Chaos Blast once, never mind Chaos Control. That was odd."

"Hmm," Tails mused. "I wonder whether it could have anything to do with the missing Emerald."

"You think it affected his powers?" the echidna asked. The fox kit nodded.

"Maybe. I think I'd like to run a few more Chaos Energy tests on him, in that case. Who knows, maybe it turns out he...absorbed it or something and that's were all the problems stem from. I don't know. Chaos is weird."

"So should we take them home again?" Knuckles suggested. Tails nodded again, tiredly. "...yeah. I'm sorry to have bothered you, Ebony. We'll call you if we find out anything, I promise, but I'd really need to get them back into my lab now."

"Your...laboratory?" the cat asked, a bit taken aback. "Why?"

"The end of the world might be in roughly 35 hours," Knuckles informed her. "One of the magic Emeralds is missing and we've been trying to retrieve it for days, see. That's why we're kind of in a hurry..." he explained, already following the fox kit out of the door. Ebony merely remained sitting dumbstruck on the couch for a moment, blinking her green eyes at thin air, and wondering how the phrase 'Crazy Patients have been removed from counseling premises by crazy friends,' could possibly sound good in a report...

xxx

In another dimension entirely, the beat had started. It was a simple rhythm, since neither the Chaotix band at the other end of the hall nor the Prince who had told them to play had any idea what they were supposed to sound like, but according to the collared hero's brief nod, it seemed adequate. Shadow watched Sonic close his eyes for a moment and take a deep breath, shoulders drooping and head lowered meekly, looking to all the world as if he were yet another slave forced to perform for his Master's pleasure, strain his body for display against his will. Of course, Shadow could tell that Sonic was merely concentrating, but the Ultimate Lifeform had enough trouble to keep from pulling at his own ears as his mind raced trying to figure out what on Earth the blue hedgehog was concentrating _for_.

And then, Sonic raised his head and emerald eyes snapped open, only a rakish grin briefly flitting across his face like a whip crack before the hero of Mobius got control over his features again and arranged them into a carefully expressionless mask - and then he was off.

Later, Shadow wished he had stopped Sonic right then and there.

The supposed slave of the Crown Prince stepped forward, but his movements were curiously light and springy, the blue hedgehog seeming as if he had wings on his feet and the beat already in his legs. Sonic rolled his shoulders, his arms swung back and forth once, twice, as the blue-furred speedster begun to briefly skip in a half-circle, forwards, sideways, backwards – before he threw himself down onto the floor.

The guests still looked on with a bit of confusion, fortunately therefore not noticing Shadow, who at the moment was rapidly working out what Sonic was up to…

And then the hero of Mobius _danced_.

Instead of falling onto his face, peach-furred arms came forward and Sonic caught himself easily on his hands, elbows bending as the lithe body went up, slender blue legs high in the air as they swung forward over his head, balancing for only a moment, before Sonic flipped back onto his feet in one smooth movement. A couple of little gasps of the audience had already been heard at the quick-footed move, but they rapidly lapsed into silence again as Sonic didn't stop - his backward flip transitioned into a backward drop as the hedgehog let his legs collapse underneath him, again catching himself with his hands as he went down on the floor, suddenly whirling his blue limbs about in the air like a many-legged spider as he supported himself on his paws and forearms only, his body still moving in time to the beat.

Shadow had trouble believing that Sonic the Hedgehog was the first slave in history who had just started _break dancing_ at a medieval court.

"Oh _no_…"

Rouge and many others were wide-eyed, not having seen anything like this before. Sonic had started to spin on the floor, toned blue legs flying through the air like a windmill with sneakers and now the music started to speed up…

Shadow could virtually feel Sonic's small rush of excitement as he could hear the beat changing, and as a reaction the blue hero then actually started to spin on his _head_, taught legs straining upwards and arms stretched out. The assembled nobles were staring on goggly-eyed, a few servants even forgetting for a moment what they were here for.

Sonic's heart skipped a beat as the changed music reached his ears and a grin started tugging at his lips. Yes! They were getting into this!

The drum had started a more varied pattern and the tambourine was attempting to get in on the act. Sonic flashed a brief wink over to where the Chaotix were playing (and for some reason nearly startled them out of the rhythm) and then flipped himself back onto his feet in one whirl, again taking a few dancing steps to the side to warm up for his next move. Shadow had to admit that the fluid motions of his supposed slave's body were mesmerizing, the way his bare midriff stretched when he threw his limbs in the air, the subtlety with which muscles in his shoulders and torso strained as he tried to balance himself in his upside down freeze poses…

Sonic kicked upwards as if in battle, but did so with enough force to perform a back salto, eliciting a few small exclamations from the audience in the process as he straightened up again, and then Shadow knew that everything was truly lost. Sonic's lips had stretched into a full-fledged grin as the supposed slave was obviously about to give his all now, tripping the light fantastic with every fibre of his being.

The music had become ever more complex as the mis-matched band was starting to pick up the mood of the guests, Ray plucking at the deeper-tuned harp strings while the rhythm of the drum and the triangle pounced through the hall, making furry ears twitch as it beat a tattoo in their heads and letting gloved hands itch to clap in tune to the new and foreign sound. All eyes were glued to the display on stage where the single lone dancer seemed to radiate pure _life_ like no one before. Mighty picked up his gittern and finally started to play…

This was it. The simple tune reached Sonic's ears and now nothing could stop him. The hero of Mobius somersaulted forwards, jumped and twisted in his flight as if his body was made of water and his spine of music, and came down only to roll onto his back, then part his legs like a V in the air, hips bucking upwards for a pose. Shadow briefly wondered whether the temperature in the room had risen or whether that was just him, but a brief look at the assembled females in the audience (_and_ some of the males….) actually suggested otherwise. Sonic didn't pause (or notice where exactly Shadow had been staring for the past few moments…), throwing his arms up to grasp his ankles, before folding himself up like a jackknife, then rolling forward into a sitting position and pressing his torso flat on the floor between his legs…for a second. Before anyone had even realized what was going on, the collared hero had already twisted his hips, kicked his legs out from under him and twisted onto his back without his torso ever leaving the floor. Balls of sneaker-clad feet came down onto the wood with a _thump!_ as the blue hedgehog now briefly suspended himself as if a reverse spider, before _then _launching into a seemingly endless series of spins on the ground, arms crossed across his chest, legs kicking through the air akin a tornado, face alight with daredevil enjoyment and emerald eyes blazing like summer lightning while none of the watchers could believe the sheer _speed_ of his moves.

Sonic the Hedgehog, breakdancing for his life and his Master and loving every minute of it.

_This…actually seems familiar…_

Shadow had been watching his supposed pet with an equal mixture of rapt attention and rapidly rising feelings of dread concerning Black Doom's reaction, but that hadn't stopped the part of his mind that was forever expecting a fight from analyzing the hedgehog's moves throughout the show. Shadow had been trained as warrior by GUN aboard the ARK during the years of childhood and youth, sometimes cruelly and viciously so, but most of all _effectively_. It meant he had learned to recognize attack patterns of enemies quickly, understand the underlying strategy of their styles and now that was actually coming in handy. Sonic's performance seemed so familiar because Shadow had seen it all in battle before. Those kicks in the air had been aimed at his head a long time ago. Those twists on the floor were what had infuriated him whenever a swipe of his at the blue hedgehog had missed its mark and instead a blue leg came around to painfully connect with his back. The jumps and flips, the somersaults and trips, everything down to the attitude and fluid movements of the blue hedgehog in front of him were as much a part of Sonic's fighting style as energy lances and Chaos Control of Shadow's. The black hedgehog couldn't help but almost smirk. No wonder Sonic usually looked like he _danced _in battles.

On the stage, Sonic jumped like a jack and twirled like a twister, blue limbs a blur when he flick-flacked, cross-stepped and cart-wheeled on the spot. Muscles underneath silky fur let his dexterous body writhe and contorted as if whipped, but the only lash the hedgehog felt was the rhythm, his only master the music. Sonic was a physical creature through and through and never had it been plainer to Shadow than now, witnessing himself how more than anything else, _movement_ was his hedgehog's element. The speedster's techniques were the same as in battle, but the aggressiveness Sonic displayed in fights was gone to be replaced by sheer joy…Shadow had never felt inclined to dance himself, but there was simply something about Sonic's general aura that always said 'come join me!' and right now he was sure he wasn't the only one who felt it. The blue hedgehog went into a hand-stand, knees bent and feet clapping in time to the beat as he hopped across the stage, never standing still. The Ultimate Lifeform's eyes could discern more than one silk-gloved hand in the audience secretly tapping as heads nodded in synch, the medieval world now introduced to street culture about 600 years too early. Hoo, boy…

The music was drawing to a crescendo. Sonic felt it and reacted accordingly. He spun on a single hand, briefly went down onto the floor again by rolling over his shoulder, then leapt up...and proceeded to defy gravity. The hero of Mobius grinned, executed a flying spinning kick as his body stretched in the air one last time just for Shadow, then turned _that_ kick into a triple airborne somersault, before uncurling and landing on his feet with the grace of a one-winged angel. At last, he dropped to one knee, extended a hand and inclined his head in a bow.

Sonic the Hedgehog – indomitable hero, docile pet, royal pain, knight errant, personal slave, incessant comedian and world's best b-boy at your service.

And then there was a riot.

_To be continued..._

_

* * *

_

(I'd say Scourge got "burnt" in this chapter, but I fear the pun would be too obvious.^^°)

Hi there! Well, last chapter of this year and happy belated holidays for all of you - wanted to get this up on Christmas, but couldn't, so I hope you're still all going to enjoy this longest chapter I've ever written and rejoice in knowing that filler is officially over. ;) The pacing of this story - I botched that one, yeah, and botched it hard in the last few chapters.^^° But I'm still learning and this was the first ever romance fic I've written ( meaning, a fic where the relationship between two characters and not external circumstances are what drives the plot), and obviously, I still have a ways to go. Once this thing is finished I'll probably to a Director's Cut version of this where all unnecessary scenes go out the window and make this more readable, and the next sonadow epic is going to be a lot better, I hope. ;) Thanks to you guys for being my editors and giving me feedback so I know what works and what doesn't. And now permit me a small victory pose because I have actually managed to incorporate a break-dancing scene in a medieval slash fic set with hedgehogs. (And the break-dancing is canon, too!)

Biggest problem was that I pretty much wrote the last four chapters all in one go and then wanted to put them up one by one, yet cutting future chappies down to size when readers start to complain after the first two - let me just tell you, it's really, really hard, probably even harder than writing the chapters up again from scratch, and time is what I'm sadly lacking. But, here you are, the action is about to start and not stop for a while. And now I'm wishing you all Happy Holidays, hope you've had a great Christmas and will have an even greater New Years. I'm off to the depths of East Germany for this (and will probably have to cut back on my 'In Soviet Russia'-jokes while I'm there, I think they're still sensitive...) so...yeah. Thanks for another great year, you guys. :)

_-Chiisai Kitsune_, _12-27-10_


	42. Those Who Challenge The King

**Chapter 42: Those Who Challenge The King**

"_I like to move it, move it! I like to move it, move it! I like to-"_

"_Shut_ it."

Shadow was more than aggravated as he dragged his supposed (and apparent GoGo-)slave through the side door outside into the corridor, less because it had gone horribly wrong, but more so because Sonic apparently enjoyed causing him one heart attack after another with increasing enthusiasm. The blue hedgehog himself of course was still singing and on the usual high he got when he had been able to amaze an audience. Even with the rough treatment Shadow's yanks on his collar currently meant, he was still grinning and shaking his body to his own rhythm until Shadow's bark finally brought him up short. But a single look at his fuming supposed Master let him only break out into hysterics again anyway.

"_What _were you thinking_?_!" Shadow hissed, again wondering what planet Sonic could possibly have been born on, because he definitely couldn't be from a universe where Natural Selection was in effect.

The collared hero merely grinned, panning both of his outstretched hands as if he was sketching the audience of the Mobe Theatre. "Shadow, it was awesome! You should have _seen_ their faces!"

_"I did see them!_"

"I know. Instant Awesome, Just Add Hedgehog, or what?" Sonic asked back, grinning smugly and gesturing toward himself while the Ultimate Lifeform was twitching by now and looked ready to increase their charade a bit in realism and sell Sonic at the next street market.

"You could have gotten us killed. I can't believe you did this."

"Aww, come on," the blue speedster pouted, "At least I came up with something. They did seem to like it," he pointed out. When Shadow obviously struggled to come up with a retort, the blue hedgehog's grin only widened, "Which makes me think I should do an encore." He pursed his lips. "I'm thinking perhaps along the lines of _Too Sexy For My Gloves, _what do you – HEY!"

"That's it. For the remainder of the evening, I'm going to tie you to the wall out here."

"You can't do that!" Sonic protested, even while the Ultimate Lifeform was already finishing up the knot on one of the rings that seemed to be embedded into the castle stone at regular intervals. "That's so not fair! I just saved our hide!"

"Yes, Sonic, and I promise I'll come back for you as soon as the slave presentation part is over. After your song-and-dance-number just now I'll probably be doing the equivalent of re-arranging desk chairs on the _Titanic _in there. Until then, however, I do not wish to be bothered by a parade of guests wanting to get a look at you after your little anachronistic masterpiece, so you're staying out here and that's final."

"What? What about the Emerald?"

"I'm pretty sure Black Doom will leave that as a grand finale. So believe me, it'll be much better for my sanity – _and _your health – if you stay out of this hall until the show is over."

"Feh. Spoilsport. As if a revolution without dancing was even worth having," Sonic shot back, crossing his arms, but while slightly peeved, did not seem too disgruntled. Perhaps he himself fancied a bit of a break from the nobles and the degradation of the other slaves. The blue hedgehog sighed and then slid down the wall, making himself comfortable on the floor. "Fine," he said, hands behind his head, legs stretched out and looking up at Shadow, "But I'm warning you, if you don't come back for me in twenty minutes tops, I'll cut through this thing and come looking for you myself."

"Yes, I don't doubt it," Shadow replied wearily. "After all, this night couldn't possibly become any more fantastic."

"Of course," Sonic nodded sagely. "It's a well-known-fact that _everything's_ better with breakdance."

The Ultimate Lifeform didn't even _try_ to reply this time and instead began to head back to the main door of the hall they were outside of. He also couldn't help but briefly wonder whether if Sonic had come to this dimension alone, the real Prince Shadow would already be wearing a chicken on his head and riding a unicycle…

xxx

Sonic looked after the retreating black-quilled back and let a little sigh escape his lips as his supposed Master vanished inside again, leaving him out in the corridor alone.

_Heh, Shadow...you might not believe it, but I actually really don't want to cause you a nervous breakdown. I just wish I could show you how to have some more fun, _he thought a bit wistfully. A small smile crept upon his face and he added, _At least I hope you liked watching me dance. _

The hero of Mobius sometimes jobbed as a DJ as a hobby and occasionally showed off in front of the turntable when the music was right, but still it had been a while since he had last break-danced and so he was actually quite proud it had turned out as well as it did.

Sonic closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool wall, for a moment not trying to think of anything. He couldn't sense even a trace of Chaos Energy around, which probably meant that at least Shadow was right and it might still be a little while before Doom brought out the Emerald. Maybe even time enough to relax a little...

The day had been a long one. The younger of the two inter-dimensional travellers had been put through obedience lessons in the morning, cooking lessons after that (although these had been fun), afterwards there had been a murderous wig guy trying to turn him into hedgehog shish kebap, _then_ he had had to endure the most humiliating grooming session in his life and even not counting the slapstick circus with Scourge, he had only finished a rather challenging dance routine and was therefore only a _little_ bit powered out. Undoubtedly, adrenaline would take care of that as soon as things would turn interesting again, but right now he could feel fatigue overcoming him...green eyes closed and blue ears drooped as he could feel his shoulders relax and his body sag against the wall a bit more. Sonic's head sunk onto his chest. It would still be rather hard to take him unawares, as he wasn't sleeping, but he guessed it also couldn't hurt appearances if he gave himself dead to the world.

xxx

The side door to the throne room creaked open ever so little as a slim figure slipped outside silently and gracefully, taking a brief moment to relax against the closed wood as if she had just escaped a prison of some sort.

"Finally. Father, what _were_ you thinking to bring us here?" her voice was heard under her breath, the squirrel at the same time pressing a hand against her forehead. "This entire country needs help, yes, but certainly _not_ to win any war..."

Princess Sally groaned, straightening herself and shaking her head, auburn hair shivering down her back like water.

"And at first that Prince Shadow even seemed decent. Sally girl, you obviously still need to learn a lot about judging first impressions if you ever want to be queen..." she muttered, looking slightly weary and more than reluctant to return inside. Well, probably she could stay out here in the corridor for a while after she had excused herself as in need of fresh air...

_And if that green-furred sadist comes after me...well, in that case I'll simply have to see whether what Sir Connery taught me about dagger-throwing really measures up,_ she thought wryly, a slender brown-furred hand lightly brushing over her thigh to see whether the concealed weapon was still in place. Sally was a princess living in the castle of Acorn, but she wasn't naïve.

When she raised her gaze again, though, all thoughts about politics and alliances flew completely from her mind.

_It's that hedgehog!_ She called out in her mind, spying the slumped figure at the other end of the corridor only now as he had been half-concealed by the dark.

"Oh, _no..._!" she breathed through gritted teeth, hands already clenching up as she began to move toward him with quick, secure strides. Train him like an animal to perform for them and then simply discard him outside when he wasn't of use anymore. He had looked happy on the stage but of that energy and joy there was no trace visible now and she thought he had probably been forced to put on that act. Sally didn't care whether what general Scourge had said was right, even if those that were kept as slaves in the kingdom had minds like cattle, no-one deserved to be treated like this. Even if Black Doom managed to convince her father that he should side with him in the war against Queen Aleena and the Tribe of Echidnas, she would have to do her utmost to make the King of Acorn review that decision.

"Oh Chaos, you poor thing," she said, her voice choked as hurried through the corridor, finally reaching the sunken figure and dropping into a crouch next to him, her heart clenching up at the misery before her. The hedgehog had a collar forced around his neck that was enchaining him to the wall. At least it was loose enough to prevent him from choking, but it still essentially made him the property of someone else and prevented his freedom. "What have they been doing to you...?" she whispered, lightly brushing against his cheek and trying to look into his face, even if not expecting a coherent answer.

Therefore, when blue ears twitched at her touch and two brilliant green eyes opened to blink at hers, it came as quite a surprise when she was treated to a smile more genuine than she had seen on the faces of most nobles tonight.

"Oh hey there, Princess. Decided to ditch that boring party as well?"

"Huh?" the royal squirrel jumped backwards a bit, sapphire blue eyes widening at the sudden address. The collared hedgehog was looking up at her now, only honest curiosity and pleasant surprise in his gaze visible. He shifted under her stare, uprighting himself a bit more against the wall, one leg stretched out and the other angled, crossing his previously limp arms in front of his chest while giving her a grin that was about to border on the cocky. .

"You were pretty cool saving my hide in there. Thanks," he winked. When she didn't reply immediately, he added, "Oh yeah. I'm Sonic, by the way. Sonic the Hedgehog." He thumbed his own chest, his tone both confident and friendly, almost as if he was used to introducing himself to royalty. "Pleased to meetcha!"

"You're...welcome. I'm Sally," Sally replied, more out of reflex than anything else. "Are you alright?" she asked, a bit suspicious now. The blue hedgehog shrugged.

"Yeah, mostly. Don't appreciate to be tied up here, but, y'know," he replied easily with a shrug. He tilted his head a little. "Liked my show?"

"It was very..._unusual_," Sally replied carefully. "As you seem to be..." she trailed off with a little frown and stretched out a hand toward his shoulder where she had touched him before as if in trance, but stopped herself just in time as she realized what she was doing. "Oh wait, I'm sorry. May I touch you?" she asked, her gaze a bit embarrassed, like she had just noticed that she had essentially been about to treat him like the other party guests had.

Sonic seemed amused at her faint flush. "Uh, yeah, if you want to. It's nice if somebody actually _asks_ beforehand. Mind the spines, they're sharp," he added out of habit, knowing full well that a lot of his more enthusiastic fans had already managed to cut themselves when asking for a hug from their idol. The princess nodded, her hand finally descending on his shoulder, Sonic able to smell the sweet perfume that had been rubbed into her fur, not too much to be obnoxious, but just a hint of flowers and young grasses...Princess Sally of Acorn smelled like spring.

_Heh, nice, but not quite as nice as Shadow_, Sonic thought. The muskier, spicier scent of the black hedgehog reminded him more of damp wood fires in autumn and was in its unusualness all the more exciting. The slender fingers of the squirrel meanwhile brushed over his fur, briefly raising her eye ridges at a few blue strands and rubbing them between her finger tips as if she couldn't believe the brilliant colour. Sonic could feel the hand trailing down, lightly squeezing the firm muscles of his upper arm next and then actually lifting his hand, the girl now looking at his fingers unconcealed by the black glove. For some reason, Sonic couldn't help but feel like at a medical exam.

"Are you looking for something?" he asked the squirrel instead, the girl's head snapping up again to meet his gaze.

"Ahm...well, to be honest I just wanted to see whether you're healthy," she said and Sonic raised an eyeridge himself.

"Matter of fact, I am. Why? You're not looking for any last minute purchases, are ya?" he asked dryly, the corner of his mouth briefly twitching into a grin to show it was meant as a joke, but Sally's face fell immediately as he said it.

"What? No, you can't simply buy people, that's – I mean – wait, do you _want_ to be bought?" she asked, her eyes flashing as she tried to figure out the blue hedgehog's intentions. "If you want to be free-"

"Woah, wait, that's nice of you, but I'm actually quite happy here – and also that wouldn't help any of the other slaves much," Sonic said quickly, throwing up his hands. Sally's brows drew together.

"So you _do_ want to be enslaved?"

"No, no way," Sonic replied, shaking his head, "I just...don't want to leave Shadow. Mostly it's the other slaves I'm concerned about, _they_ have it real bad."

Sally frowned. "What's different about you, then?"

Sonic shrugged. "Shadow treats me well."

"Does he?" Sally raised an eye ridge. "You look alright, but..." her lips drew into a thin line. "I've seen the barely healed whip lashes. You're trying to defend him."

"Shadow only whipped me once and that was an accident," Sonic replied calmly, and that was nearly the truth. It had been when they had first arrived in this dimension and, ironically, also the very first lash he had received. (The fact that Shadow had punched and kicked him several times after that as well was unmentioned by Sonic mostly because during their fight he had all but broken the black hedgehog's knee himself...)

"So where do the other wounds come from?" the squirrel Princess asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Sonic shrugged.

"Uh...well...would you believe me that I get into trouble from time to time?" he asked with a slight grin, and that was also true. During their stay here, he had been lashed about half a dozen times and been beaten twice by that thick-headed castle guard. Not counting the echidna incident where the slave hunters had given him a couple of cuts and bruises, the only other things he had had to endure were the de-quilling Shadow had put him through, the near-forced bath, the minor chafes from the hand cuffs and the...tickling...– he still blushed a bit at that recollection – but most everything else had been people either trying to force themselves on him (_and_ had paid for it) or mock punishments his supposed owner had set up for their charade. Silver's whacks with the stick or Shadow's yanks on his ear had hardly merited more than a minor wince on his part and even the 'Private Lesson' with the telekinetic hedgehog fortunately had not ended painfully for him. There had been the drugging incident, of course, and the spanking, but Shadow had genuinely apologized for the first one (and Sonic privately thought that the latter hadn't been all that bad.)

"You have scars all over your body. That seems like a lot of trouble to me," Sally said, her voice wavering between the sympathetic and the sharply discerning. Sonic looked to the side.

"I...led kind of a rough life before I was captured," he said, hoping the topic was declared closed soon, because he knew he'd be in trouble if he also had to explain the, say, scars of laser burns or bullet wounds. The squirrel looked at him, appearing to think for a moment.

"This is more complicated than I expected," she said finally, with a frown. "Are you actually better off now?"

"I'm an exception," Sonic replied, serious again. "I am owned by Shadow and he actually takes care of me, which is why I'm not trying to run away. But most of the others..." his gaze darkened. "They have it worse. They're not like cattle like that cactus excuse for a hedgehog wanted to make you believe, but they're terrified. They probably couldn't even have this conversation with you because they're afraid to disobey. Your kingdom needs to join this war against Black Doom," he said, his voice sombre, but urgent. Sally's eyes narrowed. "Your...owner...happens to be part of the royal family. Do you know what it means if we win this war?"

Sonic did not reply for a moment. Of course, this was a different problem. He and Shadow were likely to be able to hold their own if they should encounter enemy troops in the ensuing war (or simply leg it at 750 mph...) and wouldn't even be around as soon as they had gotten their hands on the Emerald, but then their doppelgangers would be stuck in the situation they had left them in. The blue hero licked his lips.

"Shadow...doesn't support slavery, either. He just can't go against his father. If war breaks out, I'm sure he wouldn't stand at Black Doom's side."

Sally looked at the blue hedgehog who was chained to the wall like a pet but spoke with the confidence of a peer strategist in a war room. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, I am," Sonic said, standing up now and slightly taller than the female squirrel. "Black Doom has to be stopped, Sally. And I mean, look at me. If Shadow abused me in any way, would I be able to talk to you like this?" he asked, half-smiling at her.

Sally nodded, hesitatingly. "I suppose you're right..."

And then, of course, Shadow chose the worst possible moment to step through the door and out into the corridor.

"Sonic, I think –" he began, then stopped short as he saw the scene in front of him, which was mainly his supposed slave calmly having small talk with the invited princess where everyone would be able to overhear.

"What. Do you think you're doing?" he asked, small ice crystals about to condense on the castle walls had his tone been any chillier. Sonic tried a very unconvincing grin.

"Grassroot diplomacy?" he asked innocently as Shadow, his eyes as dark as thunder, strode towards them. It did not seem as if a quarter of an hour inside a room full of people questioning him about his hedgehog who dodged like the wind and danced like wildfire had improved his mood much.

"Shut up. Princess Sally, I apologize to cut your conversation short, but I need Sonic for a few moments in private, I think."

"Uh..." Sonic looked a bit worried as the black hedgehog had reached them and was now untying his leash with practiced skill, face outwardly calm but of course Sonic could sense the anger boiling underneath the surface by now. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Princess Saaaaa-!" he managed, right before the well-anticipated yank on his collar came, letting him yip in mid-sentence and stumble to Shadow's side with an unintentional whimper.

"You should head back inside," Shadow told the squirrel curtly. "Your father has been asking about you."

"It wasn't his fault, _I_ started talking to him-" Sally said quickly as she could sense she was being sent away so Sonic could receive a punishment she shouldn't see. Even if he had said his Master treated him decently, that obviously had to have been a lie to protect him, like a dog would still stay with an owner who beat him...

"Yes. I can imagine. Now if you would excuse us," Shadow nodded, giving a slight bow before then turning around and forcing an obviously unwilling Sonic along with him, heading around the corner. The princess of Acorn was left standing in front of the now empty ring, unsure of what to do. She had been able to prevent the blue hedgehog from being killed in the throne room because Lord Scourge apparently had been unwilling to risk a scene from her in front of witnesses, but she had a feeling Prince Shadow was a lot more ruthless. What would he do to his slave who had dared to joke and laugh...?

_No. No matter what, I won't let him get hurt. Father will have to stop the King, but I can at least try to stop his son,_ she thought and immediately started to move quickly and silently after them. Already she could hear shouting voices coming from a nearby room, but while both of them sounded angry, none of them was yet pleading or crying...

"-_thinking?_!"

"Well, duh, trying to get her to NOT support the war, maybe?"

"No, you were risking our entire charade! What if Lazar had seen you? Or any of the other 3000 servants running around in this castle?"

"You blockhead! Should I have been snivelling around? And besides, she could already see something was up with me, she's not stupid. Plus, I was trying to save _your_ hide as Prince!"

"Faker, this entire night has been a nightmare. Are you actively _trying_ to make me go insane?"

"Hey, first of all_, you're_ not the one who has to wear this stupid collar and second-!"

"Uh..." both hedgehogs who until now had been yelling at each other with noses touching, turned around at this simple sound. Sonic's accusing index finger was still buried mid-poke in Shadow's chest fur while the black hedgehog was still grasping at his head. Both had one hand wrapped around the leash, pulling at it in an effort to either subdue the other or to prevent getting choked, but now both were staring like feral cats startled in mid-brawl at the slightly surprised face in the door, belonging to Princess Sally.

"Oh, I'm...sorry!" The door was slammed shut again and the heiress of the Acorn throne for a second wondered why she felt like she had just walked in on a marriage squabble rather than on a punishment of a disobedient slave. Forget simple 'complicated'. This kingdom and its relationships had long passed 'complicated' and instead moved on to alchemical levels of drama. The only thing she was still sure of was that she had to convince her father that slavery had to be stopped, if only because the one thing she knew was that it drove the people it affected barking mad.

xxx

"Was that her?" Shadow asked a bit hoarsely as both hedgehogs stared at the closed door.

"I think so," Sonic replied. "Do you think she has heard a lot?"

"Probably not much that makes sense to her, I hope," Shadow sighed. At least after their shouting match he appeared a bit calmer. The hand holding Sonic relaxed again and sunk down to his side, enabling the hero of Mobius to stand at ease again and relinquish the leash without feeling a yank on his collar for it. "Alright, faker," Shadow said. "Black Doom has sent for a 'recent acquisition' he wants to display for his guests, and I caught a faint tingle which I think might be the Emerald. We should get back and finally reclaim what's ours."

"Okay," Sonic nodded, slicking back his quills which he had rustled up during their fight. "Let's go."

The door opened and the two interdimensional travellers emerged, one still on the other's leash, but both striding with purpose. But what none of them knew was that there hadn't been one, but two watchers...

xxx

"-none of you have ever sseen before. Thisss war againsst Aleena and the echidna race might asss well be pesst control for our mighty army with the help of thiss ssent of the godsss!"

One dead-pan glance and one eye roll were exchanged by Prince and pet as they entered the hall, which had settled down a little after Sonic's act, but they still drew excited chatter and curious glances from the assembled guests. They had taken some time walking around to the main entrance and most people were sitting again. Only a few groups were still standing to chat with their friends, but even they were dispersing now that the programme had moved on from the presentation of slaves to the more interesting part of the evening. Shadow scanned the hall immediately for Black Doom and saw that his supposed father was missing, while the first thing Sonic noted was that Scourge wasn't there anymore, the seats around Rouge empty and Manic sitting forlornly on the ground. Sally, too, had left her place and was urgently whispering into the ear of her father, who snipped his fingers and had one of his knights positioned behind his seat draw up a chair for her.

"Shadow-" Sonic was about to point out his observation to his black-furred Master as he was led back to their place, but was suddenly cut short. As simultaneously as if they had planned it, both hedgehogs' heads snapped their mouths shut and turned around, their gazes focusing on the same door that Black Doom had previously emerged from.

The Chaos pulse had been so strong, the Emerald couldn't be further than thirty feet from them now.

"It's here," Sonic whispered.

"I know."

"What should we do?"

"Wait until he's in the hall. There's more space for us to manoeuvre and the confusion will help us," Shadow replied under his breath. Up front on the stage, Lazar was still busy molesting certain consonants as his announcement speech drew to a close, just as Shadow and Sonic had reached their seats again, Rouge only raising a little questioning eye ridge as both seemingly preferred to remain standing instead of sitting down.

"Behold thiss in awe asss you behold your King;" Lazar proclaimed dramatically just as the door opened, admitting the floating form of Black Doom - preceded by none other than General Scourge the Hedgehog carrying a pillow of dark velvet, his features illuminated solely by the radiance of the white Chaos Emerald atop.

And if Shadow hadn't been completely mesmerized by the sheer energy emitted by the gem stone, he surely would have noticed that the white-furred bat in front of him looked as if she just had had a revelation.

xxx

"King Maximilian of Acorn," Black Doom's voice thundered through the hall again, the squirrel king and his daughter immediately straightening themselves and interrupting their discussion, sapphire blue eyes wide as they beheld the gem, wary. "I ask you to feast your eyes on this, as it is a manifestation of power that will be able to lay devastation upon the forces of our enemies; join us in the eradication of those that sought to oppose us!"

"Blah, blah, and many more words ending in '-ation'," Sonic whispered, but Shadow shushed him into silence, just as Black Doom's claw came to rest upon the gem and held it up high.

"Witness this!"

A flash of blinding white light burst out of the Emerald, for a moment letting everybody (sans Shadow, who merely had his eyes closed in bliss) gasp and shield their faces or stumble. The king and princess of Acorn both stared at their host in blinking confusion.

"What- what is the meaning of this-?" Maximilian began, a protective arm almost instinctively slung around the shoulders of his daughter, his tone wavering between the awed and the accusatory.

"Nothing, my dear friend," Black Doom replied in his usual hoarse rumble, "Just a demonstration of the power contained in this. It is pure, ancient magic and that light could just as well have brought death to enemy troops or destroyed entire villages or castles! There is no end to the victories one can achieve with it!"

"We strike as soon as his attention is not on the Emerald any more. Wait for my signal," Shadow said quietly, one hand touching Sonic's neck as he unhooked the leash without it being noticed by others. The collared hero nodded with hesitation, his own eyes focused on the stage. He was happy to let Shadow do the planning, just as he usually listened to Tails' suggestions of battle strategies as that part wasn't really his forte, but right now his gut also told him that something wasn't right here. It might have been the fact that Scourge had come in with Black Doom when really, his son Shadow should have been the one to carry the Emerald (which, in retrospect, would have made this a LOT easier) but he couldn't pin it down...

"This kingdom," Black Doom proclaimed, sweeping a claw to indicate the hall, "has stood proud through _centuries. _Always there have been noble leaders who controlled it well," he said, his hand that didn't hold the Emerald now coming to rest on the shoulder of the green hedgehog beside him, Scourge giving off prideful grin, and Shadow actually noticed that the general was staring right into his direction at those words. Apparently, this entire circus was not only a demonstration of power, but also a supposed public slight against the Prince, then. Shadow returned Scourge's gaze unphased, his entire body language basically telling the green hedgehog that the Ultimate Lifeform would ditch the entire freakin castle and crown the other seemed so desperate for in a heartbeat against a 21st century apartment with running water, a plasma TV and a supermarket and decent DVD rental next door.

Shadow _liked_ his movies, thankyouverymuch.

For some reason, though, Shadow's complete indifference only seemed to amuse Scourge further, but the black hedgehog decided to ignore that, too. After all, if the green general was seemingly really some strange jerkass version of Sonic as he seemed to be, then it only stood to reason that he was also slightly mad. Next to him, said hedgehog was already getting already impatient, but Black Doom still seemed to want to prolong his speech a little bit.

"No realm can exist without a King," he spoke, finally his hand with the Emerald now hovering over the pedestal again and both dimension-travelling hedgehogs were by now itching for him to finally put it down. "A royal family - as you may agree with me, King Maximilian – is the _roots_ of a realm, the _crown_ of a realm, the very _tree_ that supports every single part of a kingdom and those that thrive within. It must be nurtured and cared for, so it can grow strong and grow larger!"

"Is he going anywhere with this, or did he plan to deliver this speech at a tree nursery?" Sonic asked in a flat tone, yet Shadow paid no attention to his collared hedgehog. Black eye ridges had drawn together in a frown, because now _Rouge _was also shooting uneasy glances at him, looking worried. What was up with that?

"And of course, this also means that dead branches need to be cut off before they affect the whole," Black Doom continued his lecture at this point, lava-like eyes now glaring imperiously at the room. "Diseased seeds eradicated. Rotten fruits _squashed_," he snarled, his free hand clenching its fingers together to express his apparent frustration with insufficient gardening products in a very cliché gesture. The atmosphere in the room had grown continually more uncomfortable, though, and guests were looking at each other with tight lips and quick, edgy glances, shifting in their seats. What was this? Shadow's eyes had narrowed, as the most he could suspect was that this could be very imposing, thinly veiled threats against the royal family of Acorn that they would do better to comply with the alliance their host proposed, but why would this make the nobles of Black Doom's kingdom so nervous as well?

"Which brings my speech and this evening to an end," Black Doom finally finished, and now Sonic was getting even more antsy next to Shadow, because, back in the old days, he had heard that exact tone that Black Doom used right now often enough.

Back then, it had been Robotnik who had spoken like that - always straight before he had thrown somebody into the roboticizer.

"Shadow," Sonic said, voice hoarse. "There's going to be trouble."

"What do you-?" the black hedgehog began, but then, Black Doom already answered his question for him.

"An end - to a certain traitor's _life_. The second main reason for tonight, the execution of Prince _Shadow_!"

"What?" both the hero of Mobius and the Ultimate Lifeform stared for the milisecond they needed to take that information in, Black Doom's claw whipping to point straight at the black hedgehog's heart.

"Guards! _Kill him_!"

"This doesn't make _any-_!" Shadow began, but by then Sonic had already grabbed him by the arm.

"Move it! Now or never!"

"Right," the Ultimate Lifeform's expression snapped into place again, all rational thought shut out that was non-essential to fighting. Behind them, there was already the stomping of boots from the corridor, meaning the only was up ahead.

"Scourge! Bring me the head of the parasite who thought he could dethrone me!" Black Doom commanded and the green hedgehog grinned like a blade as he drew his sword. Surprised and frightened cries were erupting all around the dinner table now, nobles panicking and clueless as to whether they should stay or run, to avoid getting injured. Shadow on second thought thought he could have figured as much. Even when he had encountered him on Earth, Black Doom had loved his dramatics, so executing his own son at an official dinner was probably exactly what he saw as 'evening entertainment'. But he still had no idea when Sonic and he had screwed this up...

"Your wish is my command, my liege..." Scourge replied at this very moment – and then promptly charged at lightning speed. Shadow dodged out of reflex, twisting to the side to see the look of pure lust to kill on the green hedgehog's face, the General whipping around like a snake when Shadow had evaded his first attack to face him again.

"You shouldn't be so careless as to where you talk," the other informed him with a malicious grin. "People hear things, you know?" he asked – and then it was his turn to dodge an attack, as a blue leg very nearly collided with his head.

"What-?" Scourge hissed, twisting so he could now see both Shadow _and _the blue hedgehog who had just dared to assault him.

"Over here, green beans," Sonic informed him with a cocky grin. "If there's anyone, _I'll _be your opponent."

"YOU!" Scourge's mouth had all his teeth bared in furious indignation, "_You dare to interfere again?_!_" _

Sonic rubbed his neck where Scourge had cut him. "Sure, we still have a score to settle. Pea brain," he said, hovering just in front of the green hedgehog's quivering blade.

"_Chaotix! Protect the Prince!" _

Heads turned again at the hollering cry and Shadow's eyes went wide as indeed, Vector the Crocodile was pointing straight at him from across the hall. The guests seated next to the musicians gave yelps of surprise and scrambled away hastily as suddenly, the mismatched group had discarded their instruments and drawn weapons as well, all but Mighty, who merely cracked his knuckles. 

_"What?_" Black Doom looked ready to explode. "More traitors? Guards! Kill them all!" he commanded, soldiers pouring in through the side doors behind the throne as the Chaotix sent the table crashing forward in an attempt to reach Sonic and Shadow, who were both just as surprised as the rest. Fighting and screams broke out at the side of the room as the four fake musicians clashed with the first wave of the armed soldiers, and the stone walls already echoed with the clamour of battle.

"Shadow. Get the Emerald. I'll take care of this poser. Forget about the rest," Sonic said, his gaze already fixed on Scourge again who had also just recovered from the strange surprise, blue eyes narrowing at the insubordinate slave still standing in his way.

"Right," Shadow was off the second he said it, soldiers immediately targeting him as he charged toward the throne.

"What the-?" King Max had also surged to his feet as the guards began to rush past him, blades drawn, the swords coming dangerously close to Sally in the process. Not five metres away, the Prince himself was rushing forward, another battle about to break out.

"Protect my daughter!" the squirrel king yelled, which only added to more swords being drawn and soldiers colliding as the guards the Acorn king had brought with him got into the way of Black Doom's forces, Sapients everywhere falling over chairs and wildly kicking in panic, as the dining hall had turned from throne room into Sonic Smash Bros. Brawl: Asylum Edition in five seconds flat. Even the blue speedster himself could not keep track of what was happening further than two feet from him, mostly because true to Manic's words, Scourge turned out to be quite the capable opponent.

"Woah!" Sonic cried as he could barely throw himself backwards to avoid another swipe of the other's blade, the deadly silver cutting through the air as if it wanted to split the gas molecules themselves. This guy was a _lot _faster than Antoine...and with the added reach the sabre gave him, Sonic barely had a chance to get close.

_Then again, I just have to distract him. Shadow needs to get the Emerald, _Sonic thought, teeth bared as Scourge once again slashed close enough to cut fur. He needed to side-step quickly now because he was rapidly running out of room to dodge backwards - and then that way was suddenly barred completely when even from that side more guards came running, surrounding them. Sonic could feel his back connect with the dinner table behind him, and swallowed. Trapped. Scourge seemed to know that as well, now levelling his sword deliciously slowly against Sonic's throat, the sensation almost ticklish, the tip pressing into his skin just above his collar.

"Stopped running from your superior, pet?" the green hedgehog asked with a cocky smirk. "No one about to bust you out this time..." he sneered, moving his blade ever so little over Sonic's chest, parting peach fur as he went, centering it right above the tensed-up blue hedgehog's heart.

xxx

Shadow was leaping. And dodging, and kicking, and twisting and turning with just as much grace, yet a lot more violence than Sonic had done, as he was doing his own version of a dance – on the heads of Black Doom's soldiers.

"Guards! You are supposed to kill him, not let him use you as stepping stones!" the king roared at this point, infuriated beyond belief that Shadow was able to overcome his forces so easily, hover skates blazing as they let their master whirl through the air, steel-plated shoes connecting brutally with the heads of any Sapients stupid enough to try and oppose him. Shadow vaulted over the last palace guard in his way, dropping down not ten metres from Black Doom, behind him a pile of unconscious, burned or bleeding bodies.

"Give me the Emerald. Now," he demanded.

"Interesting. You don't care that your slave is about to die?" the alien overlord questioned, red eyes glowing with cruel intent. Shadow's own crimson gaze narrowed.

"Sonic isn't-" he began, but then caught something out of the corner of his eyes. Mainly, that in between the entire melee going on (wherever that armadillo guy was situated in particular) there was one blue hedgehog in particular, and he had a sword against his throat.

"Damn," Shadow cursed. "_Sonic!_"

Sonic's eyes grew wide as his supposed Master's voice cut through the din of the hall. Scourge's sword was just travelling down to his chest, but the blue hedgehog wasn't even paying attention any more. What was Shadow saying...?

"...-ic! C_atch!_"

And then, just as Scourge was about to plunge the blade right into Sonic's heaving chest, a pain exploded in the green hedgehog's mind as the blade of the Prince came flying through the hall, narrowly missed his head, and sliced right through the top of his shoulder.

"_Aaaah_!"

"Thanks!" Sonic cheered, grabbing the sword mid-flight before it could fall to the floor, using Scourge's grabbing at his injured shoulder to twist out of the corner he had been driven into. The other's eyes were absolutely murderous now, red blood seeping down his left arm, but Sonic's confidence was not in the least disturbed. Now he raised his own blade instead.

"En Garde, Limeyman."

Shadow smirked as he could not hear, but see Scourge cry out as the Prince's sabre, flung from its sheath cut him as it went over his shoulder and Sonic caught it expertly. It was a personal triumph of the Ultimate Lifeform – he might have been rubbish with a sword, but he sure as hell could _throw. _

He turned back toward Black Doom, whose hand was still clutching the Emerald, shoulders quivering with rage. "That was a mistake, Shadow. You shouldn't have sacrificed your sword for your slave, just like you shouldn't have sacrificed your future by my side for him," he snarled, but gained nothing more than a smirk from the black-furred hedgehog. Guards were by now wary to approach the Ultimate Lifeform standing in front of their fallen comrades, a wide circle around Black Doom and his rebellious son.

"I make my own decisions," Shadow informed the King coolly. "Now hand over the Emerald."

"Your last words," the alien overlord responded...before a wave of his claw summoned a very familiar-looking coyote to his side.

"General D'Coolette. Your student has abandoned his sword willingly and betrayed his King. Dispose of him."

The canine bowed.

"Oui, sire. Eet pains me in my 'eart, but one cannot tolerate ze breach of ze trust like zis," D'Coolette agreed. Then his face hardened and he drew his sword.

"Zis is votre dez," he informed Shadow in what was in the black hedgehog's opinion the most failed death threat ever, before he proceeded to the salute, if possible with even more flourish than last time. Not stopping afterwards, this was followed by a series of even more complicated moves, Antoine perhaps not quite possessing the speed, but certainly more skill than Scourge, and the Ultimate Lifeform was actually surprised just how fast the other could move when he was now actually trying to kill him. The tip of his blade zigzagged through the air as he danced toward Shadow, a shield impossible to penetrate for a bare-handed fighter who didn't want his arm sliced apart, and he was drawing ever closer...

And then there was a single loud _bang! _as Antoine's sword was shot straight out of his hand, the entire coyote completely frozen in shock as he stared at Shadow, who had just re-loaded his semi-automatic.

"_Never_ bring a sword to a gun fight," the Ultimate Lifeform remarked.

xxx

"Hah! Not so cocky now, are ya?" Sonic taunted his green opponent, their swords clashing in a waterfall of metal clangs. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but grin, this brought back cherished memories of his adventures with Excaliburn. It had been a couple of months since he had last handled a blade, but Sonic's muscle memory was _good. _And Shadow's gaze when he had thrown him the blade...the blue hedgehog had understood it exactly.

_You said you knew your way around this thing. Now show me what you can do. _

….for some reason, Sonic had had the sudden urge for a moment to call the Ultimate Lifeform 'Maestro'.

Then the present already demanded his attention again, as Scourge was beginning to gain ground. Sonic's lips tightened into a line. How could he get his advantage back? And he should start making his way to Shadow, but the hall was a complete battle field and a mess of fighting bodies...

And then the blue hero grinned as he suddenly had had an idea. Scourge swiped at his legs - and the blue hero did a backflip straight on top of the dining table. "Wanna take this up a level?" he smirked down at the green hedgehog, red and white sneakers planted securely in between knocked-over bowls and dented plates. With a growl, Scourge followed, the buffet rocking as the other landed, and Sonic wasted no time attacking again, now truly a Knight of the (Dinner-) Table. The hero of Mobius didn't even blink an eye as one of the guards soared over his head, the flight path of the unfortunate pig perhaps an indication that Mighty was now well and truly pissed. Sonic still didn't know what the Chaotix were fighting for, but hoped to be able to question them when Shadow and him had gotten the Emerald – yet right now, the four mismatched secret agents were still beleaguered on all sides, and despite their intentions to get to Shadow, hadn't yet made it very far. And he needed to get to Shadow himself...

"So you think just because some sod taught you to play with a blade, you can forget your place, do you?" Scourge taunted at this point as he very nearly broke through Sonic's defences, but was thwarted by a lightning-quick change of foot by the other, "Let me crush that idea. I will defeat you and your place is beneath me, whimpering and begging..." Scourge leered at him, the suggestive grin of his making it clear what he imagined as the consequences of Sonic's defeat. The blue hero was less than impressed.

"What, begging for you to shut the hell up?" he asked tauntingly as he tried to speed up the blows with his blade, trying to push Scourge back with a sheer spamming of moves, but unfortunately, the other seemed to be able to match him bout for bout. The fight was made harder by the fact that their footing was a lot more insecure now, too, feet in black boots and red sneakers dancing and tripping over and through salt dispensers, wine cups and hunks of half-eaten steak. Sonic nearly slipped on a particularly stupidly positioned slab of butter...

_...wait. _

Again, that grin Shadow had learned to dread and Scourge already knew to hate flit over the blue speedster's muzzle and, when the next jab of the green hedgehog pushed him backwards, a blue leg lashed out and kicked a middle-sized bowl full of potato mush straight into a very surprised green face.

As it fell off, Scourge had already flailed backwards several paces, and now blue eyes blinked through the yellow mass, utterly baffled. They fell on Sonic, who had just gained two metres of dinner table and looked _very _smug, and then raised his left fist in the air.

"Gooooaal!" the blue hedgehog suggested.

In response, Sonic could barely dodge the fish plate that came shooting at him with lethal velocity, a completely enraged potato face now screaming oaths at him, his ancestors, and everything his entire family had possibly ever loved.

"_I'm going to kill you! Hold still, dammit!_" Scourge shrieked as they started their battle anew, now different in the fact that both opponents not only tried to slice and stab at each other, but also kicked every available food stuff and table decoration into the other hedgehog's face. Their blades were abused as bats when it came to warding off the projectiles, and every noble who until then had still been within five metres distance was now rapidly diving for cover, (even if there were quite a few of them who actually still tried to watch...)

Sonic for his part whirled across the kitchen table, their duel now a curious combination off soccer, fencing, baseball and food fight, and it was only getting more intense. A raging Scourge so far had an apple, a sandwich and half a fish skewered on his blade, Sonic was having visual difficulties because of a very sneaky gravy attack, and privately, the hero of Mobius couldn't help but think that if he hadn't been fighting for his life right at the moment, this would be the coolest sport ever.

And then an ear-splitting _bang!_ tore right through the hall and Sonic's head whipped around toward the only one he knew could possibly have caused it.

"Shadow!" he called, "Don't! The ricochets could hit anybody!"

Which unfortunately was the only distraction Scourge needed. Before Sonic knew it, a black boot connected brutally with the side of his knee in a swipe kick, and he crashed right onto his back, Scourge's foot coming down on his sword hand, Scourge's blade coming down on his neck, again.

The effect wasn't even _slightly_ ruined with the sandwich sliding off.

xxx

"Sonic!" Shadow shouted, his supposed slave's voice having reached him right after he had fired the gun shot, Antoine still shell-shocked at his broken sword. But he was only quick enough to see Sonic just as he fell, not ten metres from Shadow, on the dinner table. The Ultimate Lifeform didn't even _ask _why both he and his green opponent looked as if they had just fought WWIII in a kitchen.

"Oh. Isn't that your precious pet, Shadow?" Black Doom hissed gleefully, immediately seeing the scene, too. "And about to be killed by my new heir, Scourge. How apt."

"Let him go!" Shadow snarled at both Scourge and the alien king immediately, green eyes now looking at him both slightly embarrassed and apologetic that they had allowed themselves to be distracted so easily.

"Oh yeah? And why would I?" Scourge sneered at Shadow, the tip of his sword smoothly sliding in between Sonic's collar and his skin, letting the name tag of the other dangling from its tip. Beneath him, the blue hedgehog now looked more than furious, but was obviously for the moment unable to fight back.

"I'll do whatever you want. Let him go," Shadow stated, voice tense. He had considered shooting Scourge, but if that guy had been able to hold his own against Sonic, it meant he was equally as fast - and could dodge bullets. But if he didn't know what to expect...

Unfortunately, the green hedgehog also seemed to have read his thoughts.

"Fine. That thing you hold in your hand. Put it down."

Shadow complied, red eyes blazing. He still was far from powerless. Hadn't even _used_ his Chaos Spears so far. Unfortunately, his Chaos caches were running pretty low as well...

"Good boy. Now come here," Scourge instructed, his voice almost a purr. Black Doom's eyes narrowed.

"What is this, Scourge? Eradicate this pest and be done with it!"

"Let me have a little fun, your Majesty," the green hedgehog retorted with a grin. "That was one of my conditions, remember?" he asked, before turning right back to Shadow, the black hedgehog only two metres from the general and Sonic on his back. "Alright. Now I want you to kneel before me," he informed the supposed Prince, eyes alight with amusement. "Go on. Kiss the ground, my Prince."

Shadow raised an eye ridge. "You want me to kneel right here?" the artificially engineered hedgehog asked, pointing at the soiled ground.

"That's right," Scourge purred. "Come on, nice and low..." he goaded the other as Shadow lowered himself to the floor without resisting. "Tell me, what do you think of that? Finally forced to grovel in the dirt?" he asked, oblivious to Sonic's furious gaze from below him, now hating his green rival more than ever for humiliating Shadow like that. The black hedgehog, however, only raised a perfectly calm, crimson gaze.

"Actually, I think it was an utterly stupid move of you," he informed the green hedgehog atop the dining table.

"What?" Scourge's face contorted. "How-?"

"_Because_," and here Shadow's expression transformed into the most deliciously smug grin possible, "you literally just 'fell' for the oldest trick in the book," he said – and then yanked the table cloth that had spilled down from the buffet and in front of his knees with all his might.

Scourge the Hedgehog, general and royal knight, plummeted down backwards from the dining table with nothing but an undignified shriek. Sonic, who had been lying down, was easily able to stay atop, though, and swiped the green hedgehog's sword just as he went down. Yet this time, he just used it to ram the hilt hard enough against Scourge's head when the green hedgehog reflexively tried to roll to his feet again, that the other went straight back to the ground with a sigh.

"Gotcha!"

Sonic swung himself off the table, shoved Scourge's sword into his belt and was straight back at Shadow's side again, ready for new action, as the black hedgehog was already facing the alien overlord once more. Behind them, the battle between the Chaotix and the soldiers was still ongoing, through Sonic thought that the others were slowly losing, which meant they had to wrap this up _now_...

"Now, for the _final_ time," Shadow scathed at his supposed father. "Give me that damn Chaos Emerald!"

"We just defeated your best warrior," Sonic added. "So if you don't wanna sleep in your own food scraps like him, I suggest you hand it over and try to exit stage left, or something."

"Fools," Black Doom retorted, spreading his arms wide, Emerald held high."I will do nothing of the sort – for _you _shall be the ones wishing you had run when you had the chance. My spell will bind your limbs and my power will destroy you! This is what happens to traitors!"

"Magic?" Sonic asked sarcastically. "Seriously? You know, this ain't Hogwarts, so-" the blue hedgehog started to quip, but then suddenly broke off. "Wha- my _legs_!" he called, suddenly true worry in his voice. "Shadow, this is-"

"His paralysis gas," the black hedgehog hissed, feeling like hitting himself for forgetting about this one, already sensing his own limbs stiffening as Black doom was laughing.

"Damn," Sonic panted, before using his last muscle power to turn his head. "Okay, seems like this is in your hands now, Shadow, just like last time. Break the hold-"

"I _can't._" The collared hero's eyes went wide as his supposed Master replied hoarsely, his crimson stare mirroring the same desperation as Sonic's own. "Sonic, this Black Doom and I are _not_ related."

And then, both hedgehogs could see it only from the corners of their eyes, as Black Doom still laughing raised one arm to summon one of his trademark black energy discs and hurled it toward them, and then everything went dark.

_To be continued?

* * *

_

Riiight, so hands up who expected this! I'm curious. :P Hmm, so maybe not the immediate return they were hoping...and heh, back home the countdown is ticking. Are our heroes gonna survive this or is the story from now on going to focus on the _other _Sonic and Shadow on Mobius prime? :P And hey, I just checked the review count, and this could be the first story of the sonadow fandom to actually hit that 1k mark. Thanks so much for that. :) Hope you liked this one again!


	43. Worth A Chance

**Chapter 43: Worth A Chance**

Shadow woke up with the most searing headache possible, and when memory caught up with him like a steam train only a split-second after, he also remembered he should be happy he even still _had_ a head.

"Ouuh..." the Ultimate Lifeform groaned in what was probably not the most original way, but he also thought that anyone _complaining_ about his dialogue should pretty please get in here and see for themselves how they would fare after being paralyzed and thrown into...wait, where was he, actually?

Red eyes finally blinked open, and Shadow was able to form a rather blurry picture of his surroundings as the world slowly shifted into focus again. He was lying on some damp mass...straw? His nose twitched; the air was chilly, damp and stale, and everything was bathed in twilight, no noise discernible apart from his own breathing. Surrounding him were walls of black stones, the room he was in seeming small. Shadow tried to sit up...

...and every single previous observation became entirely unimportant as the next thing he saw was the beaten-up, unconscious blue-furred body of the single thing that mattered most to him lying on the other side of the cell.

"Sonic!" a hoarse whisper escaped Shadow's throat before he could stop it, the Ultimate Lifeform immediately scrambling to half-crawl, half-drag himself over to where Sonic lay. His own body hurt like hell, muscles cramping and Chaos caches near-drained, but Shadow could already tell he wasn't seriously injured - yet. But what about Sonic...?

"Dammit, faker, don't leave me here...!" hissed Shadow, already kneeling by the injured speedster's side and checking for damage. Gloved hands ran over the blue and peach pelt, but fortunately could not find any broken bones or anything else but skin-deep cuts and some bruises. Sonic was also breathing steadily, which helped to calm Shadow down a bit. Apparently, they were both okay...

_Which still does NOT change the fact we're also in a goddamn __prison__, _the black hedgehog immediately added with a mental growl. Now that Sonic's condition (who would probably wake up soon, Shadow thought) was not an immediate concern any more, he was also able to easily take stock of their surroundings in full – not that there was much to take stock _of_, anyway. It was a nearly feature-less dungeon room of dark stones, about three by three metres wide, filled on the side with a pile of old straw Shadow had woken up on, illuminated by a small, half-round barred window high in one wall that let some moonshine in, and closed off to the corridor outside by a row of thick steel bars. It was a cell you would be able to find in any standard fantasy novel or videogame, except that in this one they seemed to have forgotten the secret passageway for the hero to escape.

There were also rings with chains embedded into the stones, again, and Sonic actually had both of his wrists manacled into the steel cuffs and lay half-slumped with his back against the wall, arms and body held up halfway by the short links of chain. Shadow could already see that when Sonic awoke, he would very likely not be able to stand up or do anything else besides remaining sitting against the stone or lying on his back, and the black hedgehog could also already predict how that was likely to affect the blue speedster's mood. He himself had remained unbound for whatever reason. Also, they had taken the sword Sonic had nicked from Scourge and Shadow's cape and shoulder plate, but left all the rest of their clothing – most importantly their shoes. Shadow finally rose from his crouch next to Sonic when he had made sure the other really was as okay as could be expected and then strode over to bars to peer out into the corridor.

His status had turned from Prince to prisoner, now. What had happened after they had been knocked out? He didn't know. Had any others been killed or injured? What was Black Doom planning with them now? Shadow's head was a mess of questions and migraine, and unfortunately, when he looked out into the torch-lit corridor and the first thing he saw was _Lazar, _he immediately knew one of the conditions was about to get worse.

"Ah, my...ex-Prince. Have you sssslept well, your Majessty?" the lizard rose from the chair he had been sitting on as he lisped with a cruel sneer, apparently attempting to express his content by abusing innocent consonants more than usual.

"Cut it," Shadow scathed. He certainly did not care for the purple reptile's antics _now_, but like it or not, he was currently the only source of information he had. This was also the only reason why Shadow hadn't yet fired a Chaos Spear through the bars and removed both head and tongue from their scaly owner permanently.

"Why am I here? What does Black Doom want with us?" the Ultimate Lifeform asked instead, trying to keep his voice level while at the same time imagining Lazar impaled on various gardening instruments (the blunter, the better).

"You have been officially disssowned," the lizard's tone was the equivalent of a razor coated in syrup, "Lord Sssscourge iss the new heir to the throne. You two will be executed, ass the commencement and prelude to a _gloriousss war_!"

"Right. And you were just waiting around to tell me that," Shadow said, leaning against the bars with his arms crossed, non-impressed.

"The ruless sstate that each prissoner iss to be announced their ssentence before execution," Lazar informed him, yellow eyes glowing with twisted joy. "Hiss Majessty wantss to obsserve the law exactly in the casse of the execution of a Prince. And sssince you will die at sunrisse, I thought you ssshould be told _before_ your lasst eight hourss to live have run out." He laughed and made to leave, but Shadow called him back before he could even take another step.

"Wait! What happened to the others? The Acorn family? And the musicians?" the Ultimate Lifeform asked, red eyes narrowed in suspicion. As far as he could see, all the other cells in the corridor they were on were empty.

Lazar only smiled at him smugly, black tongue flicking over his teeth.

"Ssso interessted. Interessting. But, I ssee no reason for telling you," he finished slyly, obviously enjoying his new position of power over the previously so scary prince. Shadow's fingers curled around the steel bars, nearly leaving an impression in them by now, but he still tried to keep his temper.

"Why did you chain Sonic up?" he asked next, if only because that was another detail that would probably complicate every next step further. Lazar looked at him down his thin purple snout.

"You can thank that old-fasshioned fool Ambosss that _you_ aren't chained up next to him. He refussed to put you in ironss like a regular prissoner when you were brought here, if only becaussse he sstill harbourss resspect_. Dogs,_" Lazar said, almost spitting the last word out. "Sso enjoy thiss little comfort you have - becausse it will be the _lasst_," he said cheerfully, bringing Shadow's blood ever closer to boiling point, a low growl already building in the Ultimate Lifeform's throat. The lizard, probably sensing this, made to turn around and finally leave, but then stopped himself one last time.

"Ah, one lasst thing," he informed Shadow pleasantly, "Lord Sscourge hass decreed that if your sslave wantss hiss life to be sspared, he may choose to sssubmit to the new Prince and become hiss pet instead – and Prince Ssscourge alsso wished to inform you, that in thiss casse, he would make sssure to enjoy your sslave right before your eyess before you died-"

"_GET OUT!"_

Shadow had roared loudly enough that Lazar dropped the sentence papers he had been holding. The Ultimate Lifeform's eyes were near _glowing _with fury by now, the Chaos in his body ready to explode, lashed into a frenzy by its host's rage. Lazar undoubtedly could feel this too, now, and hastily collected the papers to back off. Shadow _really _had to restrain himself now, knowing that a Chaos Blast very likely would not only hurt Sonic, but also wouldn't help them get out of here.

"I will, my ex-Prince. And I will ss-ssee you tomorrow, and for the lasst time!" Lazar threatened, managing to combine lisping and stammering in one sentence, before backing out of the door at the end of the corridor backwards, slamming it shut with Shadow's furious gaze still burning holes into his head.

When the wooden door fell closed, Shadow tried to steady himself at the bars, breathing deeply. He was glad Sonic hadn't heard that last remark. He cast a glance over at the still unconscious blue form. It was already night time, judging from the darkness outside, and if they were going to be executed tomorrow, that gave them only a few hours...

Crimson eyes flickered back to the outside of the cell as black ears twitched at the sound of the door opening again after only a few minutes of silence. If Lazar dared to show his pointy snout in here again-!

"Prince Shadow?"

The Ultimate Lifeform immediately relaxed a bit. He let himself sink against the bars slightly more casually, and even managed to reduce his trademark scowl a bit into what usually counted as his 'friendly face'.

"Hello, Rouge."

"Prince Shadow!" the bat called out, hurrying immediately toward his cell when she had discovered where he was. "They almost wouldn't let me see you, I don't think I have much time. Are you alright?" she asked, concern written in her turquoise eyes.

Shadow answered with a shrug. "Well, considering I am apparently going to be executed tomorrow, all things considered, yes," he said, and immediately felt a bit curiously guilty as he saw the grief flashing over the female bat's face.

"My Prince..."

"You can leave the title nonsense," Shadow replied. "Doesn't matter much now. Can you tell me how the rest of the dinner went after I got knocked out? What's the situation?"

"Well..." Rouge looked a bit awkward. "...I actually fell unconscious, too. A, uh, dinner plate hit me in the head," she said, revealing a large bruise and bump underneath the white fur under her temple. Shadow refrained from rolling his eyes.

_Sonic, you and your glorious melee tactics. _

"Did you get hurt otherwise?" he asked, wondering himself where his uncanny concern for the bat girl came, even if she wasn't _his_ Rouge. But she obviously felt for the Prince and she looked just the same...

The duchess shook her head. "No," she said, then paused and seemed to have trouble continuing. "Actually..." she finally said, "I think Ken protected me."

Turquoise eyes seemed to have trouble looking at anything but at her gloved hands right now. "You know, I am actually considering releasing him and sending him back to his homeland. This night...what you have there with your pretty blue boy is something special, I could see that," she said, giving a slightly wistful smile. "I mostly collected pets because they were pretty, but I never felt anything remotely for them like you obviously for him... but I _think_ I might have found something else now that doesn't mind that much being collected, you know?" she asked. "When his Majesty showed off that gem stone...I thought that that would be a _lot_ more durable beauty, don't you think?" she questioned, and Shadow almost would have snorted. Rouge was already talking just like his friend back home when she was in Gem Mode, her eyes shining as if they were precious stones themselves and everything else forgotten.

"Yes, I think you should do that," Shadow commented easily. Rouge smiled at him.

"I've already started with my collection, too. See here?" she asked, holding out a pretty little ruby sitting snugly in her palm. Shadow frowned.

"Wait, I think I know that one. Wasn't this the stone in Princess Amy's ring?" _That I was forced to kiss? _he asked, and was immediately rewarded by that bat-fanged grin that told him that yes, this really was Rouge and she was exactly the same.

"It _was_, Shadow, it _was_."

_In here she is a duchess and she still steals stuff for kicks. Why am I not surprised? _

"Lovely," he commented dryly, but not unfriendly. "But what about the other guests? What about the musicians that suddenly attacked?" he asked again, knowing that he had to get as much information out of her as he could. Rouge turned serious again as well.

"I think they were imprisoned as well. Rumours are that they were spies from another kingdom, but they are still refusing to talk - they'll probably question them soon. So far, nobody knows what they wanted," she said. "I don't even know where they're held, I'm sorry...why, did you have anything to do with them?"

"No," Shadow shook his head. "I was just as surprised as everyone else. What about the Acorn King and his daughter?"

"Protective custody," Rouge said, and here her voice turned bitter. "They're not officially allowed to leave the castle. He, Princess Sally and their knights are all locked up in the South tower, under a pretense of protecting them from this 'riot' Black doom claims you instigated. Maybe His Majesty can already guess he probably won't get their support in his war."

"Hm," Shadow replied, not quite sure what he was to make of this development. "Scourge?" he asked instead.

"Raging mad about his defeat and preparing to lead His Majesty's army," Rouge replied. "He wanted to claim your slave for himself, but seeing as he is supposed to be executed as well now..." she said, her gaze for a moment travelling over to Sonic's bound and unconscious body, and now her expression was quickly reverting to the pain Shadow had seen earlier in her features.

"Shadow...why did you do this? I know you have been plotting against your father for a while, but you _knew_ he had you followed!" Rouge finally burst out, a curious mixture of anger and grief in her voice now that the fate of the two imprisoned hedgehogs had been brought up again and reminded her.

"Uh..." Shadow was currently a bit stumped. "Did I?"

"Yes!" Rouge cried. "My Prince...Shadow, you-!" she managed, and then her eyes even seemed to become just slightly more glistening as she stared at him, whom she believed to be her dying friend.

The Ultimate Lifeform blinked, at a complete loss what to do as he stared at the despairing bat. At home, he had never been in that kind of situation with her, and also, he wasn't even going to die tomorrow, if he had anything to say about it. But now, what could he say to her to possibly calm her down...?

"I want you out of here."

"Wh-what?" Rouge wiped briefly at her eyes with a fingertip, looking at Shadow as if she had misheard him despite her sizeable ears. "You want me to leave?"

_I can't tell her. Not in case there's anyone still overhearing stuff,_

"Yes. More specifically, I want you out of this entire kingdom. It's not safe here, and not healthy. Why don't you send your pet monkey home and then perhaps use the confusion of the war to sneak into the echidna country? You know their tribe is said to possess the biggest gem stone in the world..." he trailed off, pausing to see what kind of effect he was having on the bat. Rouge merely stared at him with big eyes now, and he took that as his cue to continue.

"And while you're there, make sure to take a good look at the Guardian's son, Knuckles. You might like him," he smirked a bit, knowing full well how very head-over-heels his bat friend at home was for the hot-tempered echidna warrior, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

Duchess Rouge by now was at last attempting to work up a reply. "Shadow..." she breathed, "My prince...I don't think I'll _ever_ know what's going on in your head," she finally managed, looking at him with a disbelieving gaze.

"You and me both," Shadow replied laconically, again leaning against the bars. Rouge's face became more sombre again.

"So this is goodbye?" she asked, voice now obviously under wilful control, and when Shadow looked into her eyes again, he could see the hardness in them that was trying to keep an even greater grief at bay as she obviously had to believe she wouldn't see her friend again. The black hedgehog briefly wondered how much harshness and loss she might already have endured in her life to have eyes as old as this.

Then he nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Goodbye. Leave tonight. Take the fastest coach and travel quickly."

"What?" Rouge now was obviously taken aback. "Why?"

"Because if I die tomorrow, Black Doom and his green-furred terrier Scourge will start going after my friends next," Shadow said grimly, and then couldn't hide just a little bit of a feral grin when he added:

"And also because if I _don't_ die tomorrow, all hell will break loose."

xxx

"Uhh...somebody wrote down the number of that badnik?"

Shadow's ears twitched as it had been about half an hour since Rouge left when Sonic the Hedgehog, world's most incessant comedian, returned to the land of the conscious.

"Hey," Shadow greeted him.

"Whu...?" Sonic managed, blinking green eyes and moving his head a little, as he tried to shuffle into an upright position. His chains immediately clanked against the wall and the first frowns of confusion started to scrunch up the blue hero's face.

"Huh-hey, what's this? Why am I..._no_," Sonic croaked the last word, momentarily freezing up as he took in their current situation, memory jigsaw pieces falling into place. He looked at Shadow a bit unhappily.

"We screwed up big time, didn't we?"

"You might phrase it like that, yes."

Sonic slumped backwards against the wall, not even fighting his shackles any more.

"_Damn_. Just because I lost that sword fight..."

"No," Shadow shook his head. "I think he had that gas attack planned from the very beginning. It was no wonder the whole thing was so unorganized and he wasn't worried at all. He must have known he could defeat us any time he liked," he said, grinding his teeth at the memory of their failed attack.

"Yeah. I officially hate poison gas enemies," Sonic commented, kicking his legs. "So, what's he situation?" he asked, bending one ear as he looked at Shadow again. "And why am I chained up and you're not?"

"Royal privileges," Shadow replied curtly, before briefly relating the details Rouge and Lazar had shared with him to Sonic. "Also, the Emerald is still with Black Doom and will be taken to the battle field with him," the black hedgehog finished. "So that's where we need to go next."

"Great. And when are we supposed to do that?" Sonic replied, already twitching impatiently in his restraints. He had tolerated the collar, but only because that thing had not been able to keep him from running.

"Well, we will have to wait until they get us out of here for our execution," Shadow replied. "Otherwise I wouldn't know how to free you from those shackles without ripping your arms out in the process."

"You're a master of pillow talk, anybody ever told you that?" Sonic replied with a dead-pan expression. Then his gaze softened somewhat, as he took in Shadow's appearance some more. "...are you actually okay, though? We both got beat up," he asked, a bit of that warmth in his voice that always let Shadow's throat close up for a moment. The black hedgehog nodded, forcing himself to reply.

"Yes. Nothing a night of rest would cure. When we break out tomorrow I should be alright."

"Okay," Sonic replied easily, ears rising up again. "How long from now is that?"

Shadow shrugged. "I can't properly see the moon from in here...maybe eight hours?"

"Eight _hours__?_!"

Shadow snorted quietly. It figured the blue hero would be more concerned about having to sit still for half a day than to be sentenced to execution at dawn.

"Yes, Sonic. And if you try to sleep until then they'll be gone in a flash."

"Aw, man..." the blue hedgehog whined, but was apparently already reluctantly resigning to his fate, as was apparent in his slumping body language. "I don't like it," he said at last, "But at least take that stuff offa me," the blue speedster asked, obviously a bit disgruntled at the fact that he couldn't move his hands to do so himself, but still managed a wry smile. "If I'm going to die tomorrow I don't wanna look like I've just escaped from the Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Shadow moved forward to comply. "Stop being irrational. We are not going to die tomorrow."

"Yeah, probably not…" Sonic looked to the side as he said it, and Shadow wondered whether he could still see some uncharacteristic apprehension in those emerald eyes as he knelt to remove the various bracelets and bands from the blue speedster. He raised an eye ridge.

"You're not really worried, are you?"

There was an almost…protective undertone in his voice that let Sonic feel as if the warming flame of Iblis was suddenly crackling on his chest again. He managed a smile.

"Nah. I think it's just those damn shackles getting to me at the moment. Not healthy being trapped for the fastest thing alive, ya know?"

Shadow's lips twitched. "Yes, I think I might have noticed," he said,

"How do you think they're going to try and execute us tomorrow?" Sonic asked, and Shadow briefly thought the only other person who would have asked that question with such conversational interest might have been Wolverine. The black hedgehog settled back into a squatting position.

"Well…firearms are out. I lost my gun to them, but took out both the bullets and the firing pin beforehand. If Black Doom won't try to kill us personally with some sort of energy attack – which I doubt, because otherwise we would have been dead at the dinner, he wants to make this an execution by the rules – I would suspect either beheading or hanging. Stoning would seem a bit archaic. Maybe poisoning for the Prince…in which case it could take a while," the Ultimate Lifeform said, giving a brief snort. Professor Gerald had taken pains to render him immune to nearly all poisons known (and various sadistic tests by other scientists aboard the ARK had proven that he had succeeded…).

"Great," Sonic replied, not very enthusiastically. "Always wanted to have my head displayed on a stake, seems so…classy."

"They'd use it to scare their children, I'm sure," the black hedgehog replied, examining his gloves, obviously only viewing their situation as mild discomfort.

"Oy, I'm prettier than that!" Sonic retorted, eyes wide in mock affront. A small grin slipped onto his lips. "At least it seemed like that tonight…"

"Yes, Sonic, please be sure I - and the _rest_ of the hall – noticed," Shadow replied conversationally as his hands now turned to work on Sonic's body, removing the various bands and belts and tossing them aside. Sonic cocked his head.

"Yeah, well...I don't care about them that much. I care about _you_," he clarified...and was rewarded with a slight surprise, and then a definite softening of Shadow's features that told him the other appreciated this. Sonic blinked as the black hedgehog suddenly began to remove one of his own white gloves.

"What are you doing?" the blue speedster asked, a small frown gracing his forehead, even if _another_ part of his brain (which had been ogling Shadow all evening already) was already coming up with a thousand unbidden explanations. The Ultimate Lifeform removed his second glove, his power rings sliding over his wrists loosely without the cuffs beneath them.

"I'm giving them to you. If you're shackled, you need to be wearing some sort of protection or else by tomorrow you're going to be scratched raw. The last thing we need is for you to get sepsis from rust," he explained, at the same time already starting to remove Sonic's short black fingerless gloves and replacing them with his soft white ones, fiddling the cuffs underneath the shackles until they could no longer bite into peach fur. Sonic turned his head to look at him.

"Thanks, but...Shadow, I still think we should bust out right now."

"...do you," Shadow replied with some hesitation, mostly because he had expected this and knew that he now had to sound as convincing as possible. "Sonic, escaping from this prison could actually be harder than it looks. Again, I'm not sure I could break your chains and even if I can do that, we still need to spindash the door in, and then escape through narrow corridors with no room to use our speed underground, while we don't know the layout of the dungeon - plus unknown numbers of guards around," he explained, "Therefore, as said, I am suggesting we wait until tomorrow, when they will likely escort us outside for our execution – and make our move as soon as there's open space for us to fight in."

"You sure?" Sonic asked, still sounding slightly sceptical. "I mean, I'm usually all for taking risks, but this time it's literally our necks on the line. What if we don't manage to escape if we wait until the last minute?"

"Please, Sonic," Shadow's voice sounded a bit condescending like it earlier had often enough. "We haven't even shown them _half_ of our moves last night and Black Doom's paralysis gas depends very heavily on the fact that he releases it an enclosed space. When we're in the courtyard, or even just keep our distance from him, it becomes powerless," the Ultimate Lifeform smirked. "And if anything else should fail, I'll just release a Chaos Blast – I don't need to move a finger for that and Chaos knows that should provide enough distraction for us to make a run for it," the black hedgehog summed his explanation up, at the same time finishing up with the second glove, kneeling back and standing up. "Satisfied?"

"Well...if you say so," Sonic replied, hands curling into experimental fists in their new clothing, and Shadow couldn't help but breathe an inner sigh of relief. Because, while technically everything he had said was true, those weren't the only reasons...mainly since the biggest obstacle for them busting out of here this very second was that he could barely remain standing up any more.

_I've really taken it too far this time. _

Shadow would have liked to bash his head against the wall for his stupidity, but didn't want to alert (and worry) Sonic with his problem. He hadn't eaten anything apart from a few bites at the dinner all week. He had only really slept during their first night here (and even then he had gotten up early) and the next consecutive five nights had been spent calming (read: doodling on) Sonic in his sleep, studying for Lazar's stupid lessons, raiding Black Doom's office, getting yelled awake in the middle of the night when Sonic had had a bad dream, playing Kiki's Delivery Service for a terrified fox kit, and, finally, the previous night had been mainly making out with Sonic...surely not the _worst_ alternative to sleep, but it still meant that especially after getting beaten up in their last fight, every single muscle in Shadow's body was now close to national strike at the mere idea of continuing this _tour de force_ without a decent night's rest in between.

"But I'm_ chained up_! For real! What am I supposed to _do_ until then?"

Of course, Sonic might have been of an entirely different opinion.

"Think of something. Count the stones. Practice the Vulcan greeting. Train the feral mice and rats in this dungeon to become your man servants," Shadow suggested non-chalantly as he walked over and leaned on the bars of their cell again, peering outside but of course seeing nothing else apart from a dark corridor and lots of other empty prisons. They were indeed alone, otherwise he was sure his sensitive ears would have picked something up by now. Sonic had snorted at Shadow's list of nonsensical suggestions.

"Har har," he commented, not quite cheered by the fact that he was now really supposed to endure the humiliation of being a prisoner in addition to being a slave until morning, and they wouldn't even attempt to break out and at least make this interesting. He sighed and kicked his legs from himself. Wasn't there anything else he could do apart from twiddling his thumbs...?

Green eyes shifted over to Shadow, who had just straightened up from the bars again, stretching himself as if he was tired. Sonic wished he could move as freely as him, able to stand and walk around, not forced against a wall like this...

"Uh..." the blue hedgehog again made a noise to attract Shadow's attention and his supposed Master turned around. Sonic for some reason had trouble forming that next sentence, wasn't really sure where that slight tinge of warmth in his cheeks came from.

"Yeah?"

"You didn't take off my collar..." Sonic let the sentence trail off somewhat awkwardly, as if seemingly not sure himself where he was actually going with this. Damn that black hedgehog for constantly confusing him.

"Oh. Right," Shadow seemed to snap back into the present, the two hedgehogs for a moment staring at each other, apparently both not quite knowing what to say. The black hedgehog quickly reached into his quills. "Almost forgot about it," he said, simultaneously trying to fish for that key that locked the choker around his supposed slave's neck...and then looked ever so slightly consternated.

"Ah."

"What?" Sonic asked.

"There might be...complications."

"You lost the key in the brawl, didn't you," Sonic said in a monotone. Of course, Shadow didn't even have the decency to look at least faintly guilty.

"It seems so. You might have to remain my formal pet a little longer, then..." the former Prince replied, and Sonic's forehead creased into a glower as the blue speedster mock-glared, especially as his supposed owner didn't seem able to suppress a faint smirk at his 'misfortune'.

"I think it looks good on you."

"Thanks, 'Master'," Sonic replied dryly, before letting his head slump forward. Chained _and_ collared. Fantastic. Well, at least the soft leather encircling his neck wasn't an annoyance per se, like his old collar had been, before Shadow had put this one on him that marked him as the Prince's private possession...

Sonic _still_ blushed a bit at that recollection, fortunately invisible as he was still staring at the floor and the Ultimate Lifeform was already leaning against the bars on the other side of the cell again. It had been after they had bathed together, when Shadow had carried him into the water and he had briefly sat on the black hedgehog's lap, before then dozing off - _and just after he had just ignored me completely when I tried to seduce him a little, _Sonic thought dryly. Then again, last night had shown that it certainly hadn't been a lack of _attraction _back then...

Sonic's gaze was still tilted downwards, eyes unintentionally focused on his own peach-tinted belly fur, and for a moment he also couldn't help but recall the feeling of Shadow's fingers as they had combed and ghosted across it, making him squirm and shiver...and Shadow had _liked_ that, Sonic was sure of it. And after all, the only reason why he had allowed the black hedgehog to manipulate him so was because the collared hero had enjoyed it, too...Sonic could feel his heart pounding a bit at the memory, heat flooding his body as he recalled those moments, and suddenly, he was also aware that that same desire which had already been distracting him during the dinner was stirring up his insides again...

_Yeah. Could've been a nice night if you'd managed to get that stupid Emerald instead of getting thrown into a dungeon-reject of Fable. Nice job breaking it, hero, _Sonic the Hedgehog replied sarcastically in his mind to his addled hormones. _So now you get to spend eight hours chained to a frickin wall instead. Congrats. _

The Ultimate Lifeform himself, oblivious to his supposed pet's thoughts, released a breath at this point, letting the collared blue hedgehog at last raise his head again and look up. Just in time to see Shadow let his well-shaped shoulders slump again, having previously rolled them upwards and briefly given Sonic a rather nice view of his abdominals. Next, though, the Ultimate Lifeform for a moment bent over as he apparently had discovered some dirt speck or other on his jet shoes, and Sonic's eyes widened ever so subtly as a very certain body part of his suddenly couldn't help but suggest that yes, there was one particular way that this night could actually be interesting after all – and of course, the idea was insane.

Not to mention dangerous.

As well as probably really, really ill-advised.

And he was Sonic the Hedgehog and didn't care for this at all.

"You know...Shadow..." Sonic began, and tried carefully to keep his voice steady, even while the other hadn't yet turned around.

"Yeah?"

"I could think of at least one thing we could do to spend the night..."

"What-?" Shadow began, finally shifting to look at Sonic, but shut up as soon as he could see the expression on the collared hedgehog's face – and his supposed slave also chose that exact moment to let one of his drawn-up knees fall to the side, his gaze and body language for a moment saying more than his words.

For a heartbeat, Shadow was speechless. Then:

"If the next comment of yours involves omelets, Sonic, I swear I'm going to kill you."

xxx

"So what do we do now?" Tails asked, looking at Knuckles a bit helplessly after they had just gotten the two amnesiac hedgehogs back home. Knuckles sighed.

"Well, we have less than 38 hours left. I suppose you should try checking their chaos readings whether they have anything to do with the missing Emerald while I...will have to talk to Tikal. I'll be going back to Angel Island. We're down to last-ditch measures now."

"What, you're going to leave me alone with _them?_!" Tails asked, and sounded for a moment just a tad like he would actually prefer for the end of the world to be in the next ten minutes, if that was the case.

xxx

"No. No omelets this time," the chained hedgehog replied one dimension away, staying more or less serious until he added "Not unless you count _really_ obscure euphemisms, I think," with a little grin. He cocked his head. "So what do you think?"

Shadow blinked. "You seriously...you want us to...in _here__?_!" he asked, the Ultimate Lifeform to the hero of Mobius now looking almost comically taken aback. Sonic shrugged to stop himself from laughing.

"Possibly last opportunity," he reminded the black hedgehog, just before poking his tongue out with a cheeky grin. "'You don't want to die a virgin, do you?'"

"I'm...I'm not," Shadow replied, just trying to gather his wits together as once again passing hurricane Sonic had managed to leave his thoughts, feelings and hormones in a shape vaguely resembling a confused corkscrew, "Are you?"

"Yes, actually," Sonic said, a bit surprised that Shadow had already had a partner, but not too much – after all, he himself still found girls attractive despite his stronger feelings for Shadow, and since the Ultimate Lifeform was living together with Rouge, he could probably guess who that other partner had been. Still, that did not put a damper on his mood – Shadow had said she was just a friend, and Sonic trusted the other. It meant that perhaps the black hedgehog had a tiny bit more experience than him, but for some reason, Sonic thought that maybe in this _particular_ situation this wouldn't matter anyway...his grin returned in full cheekiness.

"Okay. Then, how about you don't want _me_ to die a virgin?"

"Sonic, we are _not_ going to die tomorrow."

"Possibly not. But why take chances?" the blue hedgehog asked smoothly, moving his own upper body a bit suggestively against the stone now. Shadow at this point could feel his heart beating faster at the sight and sweat breaking out on his now bare palms, already familiar sensations flooding his body and replacing his tiredness. Sonic was obviously offering himself to him...(and even though the Ultimate Lifeform would never have admitted it, a part of him actually thought the blue hedgehog looked _good_ chained up like that).

Shadow shook his head, having to remind himself that this dimension was nuts and obviously affecting him. "You seriously want to do that? I mean...uh," he asked eloquently, still at a bit of an uncharacteristic loss, not having had to deal with this before. At least when Rouge had thrown herself at him, he had already been too tipsy to even _pronounce_ 'uncharacteristic'.

Sonic chuckled. "You kidding? This night alone I was tempted to grab you and drag you back to our dorm like three times. You know, if I had still been a werewolf, you would have been in trouble."

"Real- wait, what, _werewolf_?" Shadow asked, once again not entirely sure how Sonic could turn a conversation about intercourse into one of lycantrophy without even a _visible_ segway.

"Never mind," Sonic cut him off. "Point is, I want you. Right here, right now. You up for it?" he asked, and again that smile hovering between the friendly and the wicked accompanying the question and nearly letting Shadow's knees fold themselves against his will. He tried to compose himself.

"You...do know what that would mean for you, don't you? Or what did you have in mind?" he asked, earning himself a weak twitching of the lips and mock patronizing glance from Sonic.

"Believe it or not, I've lived on this planet longer than you have, Shads. I think I can imagine. But point is, because it's you, I want to try. The whole thing," the blue hedgehog said, already feeling his muscles tense up at the thought of the expected intrusion, but disregarding the sensation, or their less-than-romantic surroundings. He had heard the first time was supposed to be romantic, was supposed to be silk sheets and roses and flames of candles, everything but the night before your execution oh so far from home. But he was Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius, and when you lived your life dancing with fire and playing with death, all that mattered was that this was still Shadow, and that nothing could get in between them now...

"So, what do you say?" Sonic prodded again, trying to disguise the mixture of arousal and nervous trepidation he was feeling. He could barely keep himself from fidgeting under that crimson stare now. His mind also couldn't help but wonder what Shadow's artificially engineered body could possibly mean, nervously hoping that the other wouldn't be too large...

_Chaos. Wrong thought. Wrong thought._

"Well..." Shadow fortunately interrupted Sonic's mental train of Freudian imagery, "If that's what you want." The Ultimate Lifeform at the moment felt rather ill-equipped to handle this situation. Scenarios like this were something Professor Gerald aboard the ARK had never adequately explained to him (apart from choking on his soup the first time little Shadow had enquired about certain insects and what they were doing to plants).

Sonic cocked his head. "Hey, only if you want, of course. What's the matter with you, shy?" he asked, a bit of that old taunt in his voice. "I'm not a chick, so stop treating me like a gentleman on a first date or else you're gonna make me blush, alright?" he teased, still able to give a little laugh despite Shadow's more than clumsy attempts to keep up in this conversation, yet another trait the black hedgehog had reluctantly admitted to actually liking about this blue whirlwind that was supposed to be his pet. He could feel himself relax a little, even if a part of him was only more excited at the sight of Sonic enjoying himself, heat rushing to his middle.

"Yes," he replied promptly, at the same time finally closing the last gap between them and lowering himself onto his knees next to Sonic, bringing their faces together. "I..want you, too," he said, crimson eyes glowing with seriousness despite the words sounding strange and unused out of the dark hedgehog's mouth, before he leaned in a bit closer. "All of you..."

The blue hedgehog, who had stopped laughing as soon as his supposed owner had started to speak, shivered as lips brushed over his own when Shadow finished his sentence. Sonic closed his eyes as those lips passed his, burying his muzzle in the crook of Shadow's neck, their cheeks touching.

"Then let's do this," he whispered, before drawing another breath. "Never thought I'd say that, but..." Shadow could feel how the muscles of Sonic's cheek against his side stretched into what had to a small, unseen smile.

"...no matter where or when it may be, I think I'd want to spend my last night with you, Shadow."

_To be continued..._

(Right! So, artistic fade-to-black for all those of you who be easily squicked by slash, hedgehogs, or combinations thereof, and you're heartily invited to read on next chapter. I'm sorry this one was a short one for you guys. ;) And no worries, it'll also feature a mental recap on the most important conversation points that follow – and there aren't many. XD Hope to see you all again when it's again time for (non-M-rated) action, peril, and all-around kickassia. :P The dinner wasn't the climax, guys, that's later! Everyone else is welcome to read on and...well, see at least *a* climax earlier, I guess. *bricked*)

xxx

"Have…you ever done this before?" Sonic asked, forcing his tone not to betray his inner trepidation that was rapidly changing front row seats with his desire and euphoria. He was Sonic the Hedgehog, not some blushing virgin bride on her wedding night, dammit…

"Not with a male, no," Shadow replied, his voice sounding low and close to Sonic's ear in the darkness. Sonic swallowed. A female at least would have been biologically made for what Shadow was about to do to him…the black hedgehog was kneeling between Sonic's legs now, the blue hero still halfway leaning against the wall, halfway lying on the floor. His head was tucked into the crook in between Shadow's neck and shoulder, blue ears lightly flicking as Shadow's arms were encircling him, holding him, while his own hands were still suspended slightly above his head, bound in clinking chains. Sonic was already breathing heavily, Shadow's white chest fur tickling his collar bones, inhaling the musky scent of the other. With his arms spread out like this he felt uncomfortably exposed, unable to touch Shadow on his own...not that it mattered, when rough, dry tan lips came down to peck at his muzzle again, Shadow still learning to kiss, but learning fast.

Next, though, Sonic could already feel a hand tentatively running down across his belly, fingertips leaving tickling electricity in their wake. Oh gods, where were they going already...? Sonic suppressed a tiny mewl as his hips jerked involuntarily at the touch, but that only sent the questing fingers now brushing across the area in between his legs. The hero of Mobius drew a gasp at the sudden contact. He felt as if suddenly beginning to burn from below and Shadow's entire body pressing down upon him was nothing but adding fuel to fire wherever he touched him…and _then_ Sonic couldn't help but blush fiercely, as suddenly, a single finger had gone beyond that now prominent bump under his blue fur and was now pushing into an even more private area.

The collared hero gave the tiniest insecure whimper.

But of course, just as it was no secret that Sonic loved few things more than driving Shadow up the wall, it had also already been established that apparently, the Ultimate Lifeform enjoyed putting his supposed slave through a bit of discomfort just a tad…be it keeping him collared, restraining him otherwise, or even mock-punishing him by forced tickling or yanking his ear…Sonic swallowed as he realized that he had just put himself into a prime position to be subject to Shadow's just slightly vengeful whims.

Now he could barely restrain himself as he tried hard to silence any embarrassing noises attempting to rise through his throat as he could feel that finger probing, brushing against that quivering ring of muscles with a bit more force, demanding entry…

"You've got to relax, Sonic. Otherwise this will hurt," Shadow murmured into his ear, the invading digit below not ceasing in its motions, making Sonic wish to squirm and escape but he kept himself still, enduring the torture with gritted teeth.

"Yeah…right…not like that would be difficult at all…" the blue hedgehog replied sarcastically, raising his hips just a little to make the angle less awkward – and was rewarded with the digit for the first time actually slipping inside.

Much later, the hero of Mobius still insisted he _hadn't _squeaked.

"Ghh…" Sonic felt tempted to buck to relieve himself of the invader, feeling stuffed and awkward, but it was made difficult by the fact that he was now actually starting to get aroused as well by the massaging motions around his entrance, the intimate touch letting pangs of pleasure race up and straight to his groin. Sonic shuddered.

"Oh…gods…"

"Liking this, then, I take it?" Shadow smirked at the flustered hedgehog below, the embarrassment coupled with the obvious arousal in his supposed slave's eyes turning him on more than he had expected. He wriggled a bit further inside, wanting to see just how far he could push that writhing body...

"Gah!" Sonic immediately tensed up and Shadow actually had to dodge a blue knee jerking up in reflex.

"Hey, watch it! I'm not Drago, am I?" the Ultimate Lifeform remarked, slightly annoyed. Green eyes opened again, returning the glare.

"No, because if you were, I would have aimed that kick at your head. Don't startle me like that, okay?" he asked, feeling more than embarrassed having to have this conversation while he was still hyper-aware of Shadow's digit embedded within him, moving in and out of him without stopping. It felt unnaturally hot inside Sonic and it was an ongoing struggle for him to at least keep himself semi-relaxed to accomodate the intruder, at once dreading and always expecting Shadow to go in deeper, creating a friction that was threatening to finally push him past the point of no return. Nevertheless, there was a vibe in the air that none of their mutual annoyance or snapped threats were actually real, but instead just a slightly more intense version of their usual banter as things were starting to heat up and it excited Sonic all the more...

_Chaos. Angry sex, huh? Well, if at any point in time I should start demanding that Shadow call me dirty things, I sincerely hope he doesn't say 'your kitchen'..._

"Alright then, faker, how about you tell me how you like it," Shadow interrupted Sonic's increasingly surrealist train of thought, having bent forward again, and was now all but purring in the blue hedgehog's face, one ungloved hand lovingly tracing the hero's jaw. Unfortunately for Sonic, though, Shadow's _other_ hand remained where it was and made it increasingly difficult to answer.

"Well, you, ah...could...could..." Sonic's eyes glazed over a bit as he tried to stay focused, but the black hedgehog had just started to _bend_ his index finger inside him, moving it in a 'come hither'-motion and Sonic could feel himself stretched, new spots suddenly touched that he hadn't expected as his legs turned to jelly, hip and thighs weakly twitching in an attempt to bear this invasion of his most private area.

"That...that isn't fair..." he panted, shuddering as his eyes were staring at the ceiling, certain that he could hear a low chuckle from the other and was both peeved, helpless and turned on against his will that he couldn't do a thing about it at the moment.

"To repeat my earlier words, Sonic," Shadow replied smoothly, his hand lowering itself from the blue hero's jaw and briefly rubbing along the tensed-up belly of his unwilling pet while he still worked his other finger mercilessly inside him, "Life isn't fair. Get used to it."

"Damn...you..." blue legs coiled in protest and shackled fists were bunched up, yanking uselessly at their chains, but for the moment, that was about all the collared hero could do to protest. Shadow was sure he would recover as soon as he had gotten used to the sensations, but by then he had hopefully moved on to something else that could unbalance the flustered hero even more.

"Shh...try to give in, Sonic..." he whispered, certain that that would rile up the squirming blue form further. The black hedgehog had to admit, this was actually going pretty well so far, considering he had little to no idea how to go about this. But still, the sight of Sonic already sweating, half-lying on the floor, only held up by the cuffs around his wrists, eyes closed and panting, subject to every one of Shadow's whims already excited him more than he had thought possible. The Ultimate Lifeform could feel his ears burning, the blood pumping in their tips, and slowly, a familiar sensation began to rise somewhere else...

_But before we can even try that without me hurting him, we still have a while to go, _the black hedgehog reminded himself. Sonic was also beginning to recover from his current assault, the pink in his cheeks remaining, but emerald eyes already able to focus on Shadow again. The twitching of the blue hero's hips and slight moans were still an indicator that the sensations of the intruder now moving in and out of him in a pumping motion were far from lost on the younger hedgehog...

"Getting comfortable?" Shadow asked with an intentional smirk that he knew usually ticked the other off, getting a half-serious glower for his efforts, even as the collared hero obviously had to try hard to control his voice when he tried to reply...

"You know, if I had my damn hands free-"

"Tough," Shadow cut him off without pity. "Hate to have to break it to you, but you _are_ supposed to be helpless, here. And that means I can use my hands to go everywhere else..." he trailed off, his free hand intentionally sliding lower on Sonic's belly until it gave a rough rub in an area that made the other gasp again, but in a definitely more excited way. And who knew, the black hedgehog was already sure he could feel a growing bump similar to his own there...

"Don't...stop..." Sonic managed, giving a small buck with his hip against Shadow's hand but obviously reluctant to move too much as long as he was still mounted on that other digit. "More..." The insides of Sonic's thighs were pressing against Shadow's sides, the powerful limbs warm and wrapping around him as the blue hedgehog was worked deeper into.

"Everything comes at a price, Sonic," Shadow informed him casually. "Think you've got room for two in there?"

"Wha – wait!" Sonic's eyes had grown wide at this new information, but by then it was already too late, and he could feel a second finger pushed inside himself, and this time sensitive muscles felt torn into, being forced to expand much too quickly. The blue hedgehog's features immediately contorted, wincing.

"Ah! Shadow, stop!"

"Sonic?" The black hedgehog had indeed ceased any motion as soon as Sonic had called out, even dropping his teasing as he recognized for the first time some signals of pain in the other's voice.

"Are you alright?"

"Been...better..." the blue hero managed, still very aware of the painful stretching going on below. The first initial sting was over, but already he could tell this wasn't going to go well if Shadow tried to push deeper, or add a _third_ finger, or...well...

"Pull out," Sonic said, "I just remembered something."

"What?" Shadow asked, already feeling rather disappointed if Sonic didn't want to continue this, but then, fortunately, the blue hedgehog just grinned at him.

"Silver gave me something that should make this easier. It's in my head quills somewhere, see if you can find it. With your _other _hand."

The black hedgehog nodded and did as he was told, even if seemingly consternated. Sonic sucked air through his teeth as he could feel the intruding digits leaving his body, suddenly feeling oddly empty and yearning to be filled again, even if the initial sensation had been painful...

_Is that how Manic feels? _He briefly wondered, but then could only inwardly shake his head. Shadow was once again being more than gentle (if teasing worse than Sonic) to him, and he could hardly imagine doing anything other than pleading and bucking in pain if this was Scourge taking him for the first time.

Now his own supposed Master was reaching around him, and Sonic could feel his quills being parted as an ungloved hand dug through the tangle of blue spines, fortunately used to the task by now, so no blood was spilled. Shadow frowned as he had to grope blindly, Sonic forced with his back against the wall, but it didn't take long for questing artificially engineered fingers to finally close around a small, solid object.

"Got it," Shadow announced, pulling it to the fore. "Now what...oh."

"Yeah, my reaction too," Sonic said, giving a sort of lop-sided grin. "Still, after having you inside there _without_ that stuff, I think we should give it a go..."

"Your call," Shadow admitted, eyeing the gel-like substance inside the jar a bit suspiciously. "The only thing that worries me is what kind of dimension this has to be for them to invent something like this four centuries early."

"The sensible kind, obviously," Sonic replied curtly. "And now would you please get a move on? I mean, you know that, like, a dozen people have _tried_ to jump me in under a week, so you'd think that the one guy that actually gets permission would be a bit more thrilled about the prospect," he said, poking his tongue out as Shadow's eyes snapped up, the black hedgehog once more well aware that he was being taunted.

_You have to hand it to the faker, no matter what you do to him, he never stays under for long..._

"Getting cocky again, are we?" the Ultimate Lifeform growled, briefly straddling the tied up hedgehog akin a feral lion, digging his fingers into the peach-furred chest instead as he beared down upon him. Emerald eyes held his gaze fast, their gleam telling Shadow that the collared hero knew his ego was possibly writing cheques his self-control wasn't able to cash at the moment, but also that the Sonic was by now aroused enough to be past caring.

"Just telling you that I generally prefer _action_ to talking, if you catch my drift," the blue hedgehog provoked him with a taunting grin, even if Sonic himself was rather nervous again (but was damned if he let it show) as he could now see the other unscrewing the jar and dipping his fingers in the substance, the medieval jelly (chaos knew how they had produced that stuff) coating the black fingers liberally. Next, Shadow's other hand was already spreading his knees apart that Sonic had drawn up during their brief pause and the collared hero had to suppress a swallow as he knew that that once again let his more vulnerable parts be fully accessible to his supposed Master and couldn't help but wonder whether Shadow let him intentionally feel this way. But it let Sonic's heart beat faster and got the adrenaline flowing he loved so much...Shadow pressed him down again, his greater mass weighing the slender blue hedgehog down with just the force of his hand against Sonic's chest.

The Ultimate Lifeform leaned down close to Sonic's ear, "I can 'catch' you any time you want, Faker," Shadow's low voice purred, making goosebumps dance down Sonic's body underneath his fur,"or any _way_ you want."

Sonic couldn't quite bite back the choked moan those words tore from his throat, some far removed part of his mind wondering where the hell the other had learned to talk dirty this way, even as he saw Shadow's eyes sparkle with mischief and something far more sultry.

And then he two fingers slid once more inside him without warning and this time, they were _cold. _

xxx

Tails frowned. "Did you also just hear Sonic yell 'Sweet mother of Chaos!'?" he asked, glancing nervously upwards at the guest room of his house where they had relocated the two hedgehogs to after their return from the police station.

Knuckles raised an eye ridge. "Me? No. But if he did - even if that actually would have sounded a lot more like him than all that grovelling he's been doing during the last week – I do _not_ want to know what they're doing _now_."

_To be continued..._

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THANK YOU FOR 1000 REVIEWS! We also have over 100 000 storyviews! Let's have kink to celebrate. XD

Gah. Another insane mammoth of a chapter done even if I'm currently neck-deep in exams and shouldn't even be *doing* this. Then again, this night was ruined when I found an awesome House M.D./Detective Conan crossover (it worked!) and had to read to the very end, anyway. :P Also *puts hands on hips* I have noticed a serious lack of concern for Sonic and Shadow at the end of last chapter! XD Don't make me prove that I'm an author capable of character death. :P

Huge thanks this chapter goes to Skyblaze this time, who has *the* most amazing writing talents, I might add, and without whom the lemon this chapter would probably be reduced to 'They bonked', and then bad puns. Bug her to update her sonadow stories. Seriously. :P

Hope you all liked and please review - pr0n will resume at beginning of next chapter, if so desired^^°. Applause, please, for the most fitting setting for an eventual M-scene in this fic I could think of. XD (And the title - I puzzled for ages, but then this one just seemed to fit! :D)

Last but not least, I was wondering if I could do something to commemorate the 1000. review - maybe a contest of some sort? Ideas? :3 Aaand it's off to the next chapter...


	44. With Me

Author's Note: Err...yeah. Unfortunately, if you don't want to read anything slash-related, you might have to skip this chapter entirely, as it has pervaded the entire text.^^° Sorry 'bout that. However, I can at least guarantee you that the next chapter will be all the more thrilling for the wait...:P

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**Chapter 44: With Me**

"Oooh...I'm gonna kill you..." Sonic was digging his hands into the cold stone they were chained to now, hips wriggling as he could feel that tight ring of muscles expanded, no friction keeping the invading digits at bay any more and they were going deeper..._thrusting_ up suddenly and letting the blue herojump. The blue head was turned to the side now and his eyes closed as the collared hedgehog was trying to take deep breaths, calming himself even if all of him wanted to squirm at the alien sensation. There was liquid all inside him...

"Time for that later. You will have to get in line behind Black Doom," Shadow replied, crimson eyes relishing each shudder the blue speedster was trying to suppress that went through the lithe blue form beneath his eyes. Privately, he was amazed and grateful at what Sonic was currently willing to take just for the the two of them having fun later.

"The hell I will let him get you...you're _mine_," the blue hedgehog replied, one eye quirking open and mock-glaring at Shadow. The darker one smirked.

"Happy to hear that. And now, you better brace yourself..."

Sonic exhaled and bared his teeth as he could suddenly feel himself being expanded sharply when Shadow spread his fingers apart as if a pair of scissors, heat shooting into his cheeks as he wondered how wide open he was to Shadow now.

For one moment the thought flashed through his head why _he_ had to be the one taken, and not the other. But then again, even without the chains rendering everything else at the moment impossible, it also had seemed nearly natural, both not even considering any alternative for their first try – and, when Sonic thought about it, wasn't this the exact dynamic they had unconsciously come to enjoy anyway, while they had been here?

The Ultimate Lifeform's strong fingers were stretching him with ease, still being careful not to tear, the slightly painful sting mixed with the unfamiliar waves of pleasure from the nerve endings a completely overwhelming sensation for the so far untouched hedgehog. And Shadow's fur on his ungloved hands _itched_ and _tickled_...

Contrary to Sonic's love for speed, Shadow loved _power_, and, being able to dominate the usually so proud blue hero was obviously something he liked. Sonic could also guess that a part of the other enjoyed the collar forced around his neck, marking him to outsiders as a possession of the dark hedgehog who so far had owned so little...and it complemented the blue speedster perfectly, because _he _liked to tease, to rebel, to poke fun at anyone who thought they could control him, and he was thrilled to have found someone who could actually push back. Shadow had also needed someone to trust him, to see him as something more than a fearsome weapon of mass destruction, and Sonic, never having given up on him and now leaving himself open to anything from him like this was just what he had been waiting for so long. The blue speedster himself was simply enjoying it to be able to _relax_ for while, not carrying the world on his shoulders, but, just for once, be able to give in and give himself up to someone, without the consequences being serious - except apparently for his backside, of course.

Sonic tried to focus on something, anything as he could feel his entrance rubbed and pushed against despite his twitching hips that he tried to keep still, despite his choked back mewls of protest he didn't want Shadow to hear. Unfortunately, in a vicious cycle, the sensations became more intense whenever he instinctively tried to tense up against the assault, and trying to keep himself relaxed to accommodate his supposed Master inside him was becoming a near-impossible task. And there was _heat_ down there now, so much heat inside him as he was widened roughly and made slick with the gel from the jar, until the collared hero thought he could bear it no more.

"Shadow..." he finally breathed, his body already so wrecked from sensations he wasn't sure what he would do once his supposed Master finally decided to take him fully.

"Yeah? Everything okay with you?" the black hedgehog asked quietly, even if not ceasing in his task. Black fingers continued to roam the other's body, every once in a while brushing more and more forcefully in between those voluntarily spread blue legs, feeling the other getting more excited and speeding his pulse up in turn...Shadow could feel his temperature (and other things) slowly rising. He relished the rare sight, warm feel and musky smell of the exhausted hedgehog beneath him, blushing and breathing heavily, the Ultimate Lifeform wanting nothing more than to speed this up and finally climb atop him – except that he had sworn himself not to hurt Sonic with this.

"Yeah...keep...ooh, going," the blue hedgehog groaned, writhing once more underneath his supposed Master, and Shadow could feel the muscles around his spreading fingers quiver and relax again, those silken inside walls slowly growing more and more accustomed to being touched and claimed. Sonic's body was reacting to the lubricant even if the collared hedgehog himself hadn't seemed too fond of it at first.

"Alright," Shadow murmured, "Then here's the final step before we go all out," he said, at the same time slowly, but nonetheless demanding, pushing a third digit into the tight opening. The thought of actually invading that narrow, virgin entrance by himself was by now almost enough to send him over the edge all on its own...he needed to get a tighter grip on himself.

Well, _figuratively_.

"Ggh," Sonic offered, already prepared for being stretched wider, but still having to stifle his own exclamation at the awkward feeling mixed with the unfamiliar pleasure he was receiving from the other's touch. Also, he could feel himself rising now, and was sure his cheeks had to have lit up with another wave of embarrassment as he was now doubly exposed to Shadow, his legs still spread by the black hedgehog and having nowhere to hide. Then again, technically, this wasn't anything Sonic had to be ashamed of...

The blue speedster could feel his own heart skip a beat as he looked up and saw that Shadow was obviously excited by this as well, yet also couldn't suppress a gulp as he invariably couldn't wonder how that was ever going to fit inside him.

"Hmm...think you're ready now?" a husky voice of the other interrupted his thoughts and suddenly, Shadow had stopped moving inside him and was again leaning into his face again. Sonic could see every single muscle of the other, also panting by now, carved out beneath damp fur, the other's blood-red eyes glowing in the darkness of the dungeon, Shadow visibly just as stirred up and perhaps slightly nervous as he was, which only served to let his heart skip another beat.

The hero of Mobius summoned his courage and forced his lips to stretch into a grin.

"What are you, all talk? You should know the fastest thing alive is always gonna be one step ahead, faker."

"Well, if you say so," Shadow answered with an equally self-assured small smirk as he played over his own butterflies, leaning in once more to caress Sonic's chin and nuzzle the side of his face. The blue hero for one moment lost himself entirely in that sensation, feeling the breath of the other on his cheek, just a bit irregular. Sonic briefly figured that this would probably be helpful if Shadow could keep it up when he went in, as he would need every sensation possible to distract himself from what was to follow. It had been hard to put up with just the fingers inside himself. The collared hero swallowed as he could feel the digits being withdrawn from his entrance, knuckles making him shudder as they left him, even if he couldn't see what was going on with Shadow still leaning over him.

Now Sonic could faintly hear the scraping of jet skates on stone as Shadow moved, the warm breath of his partner, his temporary master, as it brushed across his quills, sending shivers up his spine. An ungloved, strong hand then suddenly gripped his hip, and it was only through an effort of will that Sonic avoided tensing up as he knew what was about to happen next. The blue hedgehog was trapped now, as his supposed owner pulled him into a position to be taken, further on his back and just a bit more...helpless. Sonic's heavy breathing caught in his throat as something much larger, smoother and most of all _hotter_ than fingers parted his cheeks, and pushed ever so slowly against his by now flushed and quivering entrance...

"Uh. One moment," he said quickly, just before the other had been able to enter him, gel still leaking from inside, the blue hero unable to hold it in while he was trying to stay relaxed.

"What?" Shadow halted, now mainly supported by one hand planted next to the slender speedster's sides. Sonic actually had to give him credit for that – he himself was already aching for release as he knew the black hedgehog had to be, yet if their roles had been reversed in this scenario, Sonic was pretty sure the Ultimate Lifeform would at this moment have had to fend him off with a stick if he had changed his mind right now. The collared hedgehog swallowed. He simply had to ask this...

"Okay...Chaos, this is hard to say," he managed, his breathing still rasping, tan-furred chest heaving under white tufts. "This – this is kind of big for me, Shadow."

"Rouge said something similar about it, but I'm still flattered."

"Okay, you're about one step away from getting a knee where it hurts," Sonic informed the smugly smirking hedgehog above him in a dead-pan. "That's not what I meant and you – ah! - know it," he said, briefly tensing up as there had been a little push down there he hadn't been prepared for.

"Perhaps," Shadow replied, but his face had returned to a more serious expression. "What is it, Sonic?" he asked, his tone once again non-jocular. The blue hedgehog turned his head to the side, avoiding eye clanged against the stone slightly. Unfortunately for him, Shadow still held him in place and that black hip was still moving ever so little, creating the worst tease imaginable against his entrance and he needed to get his thoughts together if this was to come out the way he intended...

"You're the first one I've ever wanted to do this with," Sonic finally said, his voice still even against the accumulated odds, "And I know this is silly, because after this entire week here with you this really shouldn't be an issue any more, but..." he stopped himself, and then finally looked up into his supposed Master's crimson eyes above him. "If this hurts too much, you're still gonna stop, right?" he asked, green eyes reflecting trust, but also that faintest hint of apprehension.

"Of course. Sonic, we don't have to do this if you don't want to," Shadow said, his own gaze searching the blue hedgehog's expression for any traces of last minute doubts or even fear, toned peach chest underneath him rising and sinking with Sonic's breathing. But the other didn't look scared...

"No, I do want to," Sonic replied, his tone once again firm, "It's just -" the blue hedgehog's lips briefly pressed into a thin line as his supposed slave seemingly tried to force his addled brain to ignore his body painfully aching to be filled again and searched for the right words. "Shadow...this is more than just a one-time-thing, right?"

"What?" The question came entirely out of nowhere, and therefore, the Ultimate Lifeform's first reaction was to be taken aback. Sonic turned his head away again, looking a curious mixture of embarrassed and annoyed.

"Look, I'm not meaning to go all girl on you here, but ..." he trailed off. "It's stupid. It's just, y'know, with me having had to wear that collar all the time, and people trying to bang me, and being sold, and tied up, and generally treated like a pet or something to be owned..." his eyes locked with Shadow again. "Is it so weird if after all that you want a bit of reassurance that you're a bit more than just a, well, sex toy? Or even a fling?" he asked, emerald gaze now fully serious like it seldom was. "I know I don't really talk about that feely stuff all that much, or am really good at it, but – Shadow, I like you. I _really_ like you. And the physical stuff is great 'n all, but I...kinda want more than that. From you," he said, again a faint pink tinge on his cheeks that he had given up fighting against by now. "That this is something bigger for us than just getting off – not that getting off at this point wouldn't be _really_ nice, by the way," he added, licking over his lips and just slightly bucking his hips for emphasis, brushing against the black hedgehog's stomach as his entire hormone-swamped body was currently insisting that it did NOT care for character development right at this moment.

"So...what am I to you, Shadow?" the collared hedgehog finally asked, keeping himself still again, tensed muscles slightly trembling as he waited for an answer of his supposed Master half atop him. When the Ultimate Lifeform did not reply for a moment, a blue forehead creased up in a frown. "Hey, it's my literal ass on the line here, okay? And this phrase has never had more truth to it," the blue speedster prodded and finally earned himself a rare snort from the other, the black hedgehog hanging his head briefly and lightly shaking it.

One blue eye ridge was cocked in wary anticipation when the next thing that happened was Shadow looking up again, shifting to his knees, and then both hands were reaching for Sonic's face and peach lips were claimed in a kiss that was somehow more prolonged and gentle than all the previous ones. The black hedgehog even seemed to remember Sonic's less than enthusiastic reaction to saliva exchange, and when tan lips parted, Sonic could feel the tip of the other's tongue just slide over his own bottom lip but not demanding entrance, the light touch making him shiver and stars explode in his vision even when his supposed owner withdrew again and green eyes blinked open to stare into entirely serious crimson ones.

"I haven't said this to anyone in a long time..." Shadow began, kneeling atop Sonic, his voice sounding curiously hesitant and slightly unsure as the black hedgehog looked a bit as if he was trying to remember something that had been over a lifetime ago. "I only ever said it to Maria, and she was basically my sister, in all but blood. Up until last week I wasn't even sure whether Professor Gerald had even created me as _capable_ of any...romance," he admitted, tone low. "But what I felt for you during this week..." a small, one of those genuine Shadow because-not-quite-there-smiles slipped onto his face, eyes gleaming with that familiar dark shine Sonic loved so much, "I have no basis to compare it to, but other than that..." he paused, looking a bit like he had trouble forming those next words, finally leaning in ever so close, closing that gap between them, as if his speech was too fragile, and he had to treat each word ever so careful, lest they might break if spoken aloud.

"Sonic..." he whispered, his voice barely a breath in those blue ears. "...I love you."

"Wow," the collared hedgehog exhaled quietly, feeling his throat run dry and entire body warm up even more, if a slightly different kind of warmth than the still pulsating heat of arousal. "Thank you, Shadow. That means a lot to me."His voice was slow, but sincere as their gazes connected. "And even if you had just said that to get into my fur, I'm thinking that such awesome acting would deserve a reward anyway," he said, familiar grin thankfully disguising how much he really had been touched by what Shadow had admitted. Now he didn't even care any more (that much, anyway) whether what came next would hurt, if he could be certain that the other actually wanted him, and wanted all of him. Sonic's legs lifted the blue hero slightly, sending him grinding against his black-furred partner and judging by how the Ultimate Lifeform sucked in the air sharply at that, Sonic was succeeding in getting them back on track. Shadow leaned in some more, and Sonic could feel the other slipping neatly against him again, prodding that already slightly abused opening in preparation for what would follow shortly...

"I promise I meant every word of that, Sonic," Shadow replied as he nuzzled into blue fur, hardly able to believe that this statement was actually true. Sonic had become the most important person in the world to him and that in only one short week. He wasn't even sure how he could simultaneously completely rely on, want to protect, and now recently ache to bang the hell out of one and the same hedgehog. Especially as Sonic still managed to confuse or throw him for a loop six times a day at the least, and yet there was a part of Shadow that already did not want to let go of his supposed pet ever again.

And now he would be able to claim him in one of the most wonderful ways possible...

"Ready?" Shadow asked again, tan lips brushing against a blue triangular ear, the feel of Sonic's tight entrance against his tip a temptation almost impossible to resist.

"Yeah," Sonic breathed. Shadow moved, already breaching-

"That is, wait."

"What _now_?"

"Relax, Shads, only teasing," Sonic grinned at the slightly exasperated Ultimate Lifeform, perhaps enjoying the power he could still wield before he knew he would be at a serious disadvantage in their continuing battle for dominance. The blue speedster cocked his head.

"We have Silver's gel, but nothing else. I can't..._catch_ anything from you, can I?" he asked, one eye narrowed curiously as he stared at Shadow. The black hedgehog gave a snort and a weary twitching of the lips.

"Faker, I am the Ultimate Lifeform, genetically engineered by the most brilliant mind of his time, and was destined to be the final cure for his deathly ill granddaughter. Whatever disease you care to name, I would be a hundred times more likely to _heal_ it than to give it to you,"

"Wow. Remind me to play 'Doctor games' with you whenever I'm sick, then," Sonic replied with a slightly lop-sided grin. When Shadow's only reaction was another shake of the head, he finally nodded, bunched his shackled hands into fists and laid his head back as if bracing himself.

"Okay," he said, breathing out again to relax, arching his back a little to make the angle as easy as possible for his supposed Master. "Let's do it. I'm ready."

Shadow nodded again, and then moved forward. The blue hedgehog's entrance was still well-coated in the gel, and could offer little to no resistance as he slid in, even as the black hedgehog knew his tip had to be considerably larger than his three fingers. But he himself couldn't help but shudder at the sensation of that flexing ring of muscles was forced to stretch over one of his most sensitive assets, reluctantly taking him in...

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut as he was breached for the first time by Shadow himself, his first reaction that the other was simply too large, when he was slowly, awkwardly widened. Slight tears of pain emerged that he hadn't quite managed to suppress at the entry. Sonic by no means teared up easily, had been able to suffer and ignore worse wounds in battles quite well, but this was such a vulnerable area he was offering to the other, so sensitive to touch that every movement made him gasp, that the sensation of truly being invaded for the first time had simply been to overwhelming. Ears and quills flattened themselves, an automatic, instinctive gesture of submissiveness of his body that he could so nothing about. It was a rare sight of the blue hero, too, Sonic's spikes most of the time always half-raised since he had been living with the constant threat of attack for too long. The only time Shadow previously had seen him lower them unconsciously had been at night in bed, the fact that both of them would naturally relax their quills when asleep the only reason why they could share a bed at all.

"Hggh…"

"Sonic…." Shadow breathed, careful not to move himself any further even as he was almost overwhelmed with the heat engulfing his head. He bent forward slowly until he was nearly touching Sonic's face with his own. He swallowed. "I'm sorry..." he murmured…and then, on impulse, let his tongue dart out briefly to lick the tear away. Sonic opened his eyes surprised, but then leaned into the gentle touch, the pain somehow bearable if it was accompanied by something else to focus on, like he had previously thought. He almost blushed at the caress, remembering Shadow's words from before…

"Stay there…"Sonic turned his head, claiming Shadow in a kiss that instantly became rougher as the black hedgehog moved again inside him, small hedgehog teeth trapping Shadow's lower lip in a careful love bite, but at least no more tears coming forth as the first wave of pain at the sudden stretch was past and Sonic could begin to adjust himself to what currently resided inside of him. His tongue was actually invading Shadow's mouth now, a surprise to the black hedgehog but not an unwanted one, the blue-furred speedster perhaps trying to retaliate for what was being done to him somewhere else. Sonic's teeth were slightly nibbling at his sensitive bottom lip, a shower of electricity crawling across the black hedgehog's back as Sonic's tongue tickled the inside of his mouth, suckling at the warm, moist flesh. Shadow didn't mind as he slowly pushed himself further inside...

For Sonic, this was new terrain, too, for the first time totally defenceless and at the mercy of someone else – someone else that wasn't intentionally out to hurt him, that is, and he had offered himself up willingly…

"Hhh!" Sonic's back arched in pain at the next thrust, again surprising the Ultimate Lifeform, but in a cruel twist, that only meant the blue hedgehog managed to impale himself even further. The collared hedgehog whimpered quietly as he sank against the dungeon wall again, head turned to the side as he tried to steady his laboured breathing, now quite literally trapped between a rock and a hard place.

"Sonic…" Shadow began, concerned, but was interrupted.

"Don't start. I'm…still fine…" Sonic pressed through gritted teeth, hands balling into fists in their shackles. Shadow watched as the blue hedgehog again strained to spread himself for the penetration, to relax so the pain he was forcing on him wouldn't be so bad...

Shadow felt big…Sonic was blushing fiercely at the sensation pushed into him, could feel himself brushing up against Shadow's abdomen now, would have liked to buck to increase the friction but couldn't move his hips without being stretched even further, quite literally fixated in place. Shadow's length inside him felt hard, and pulsating and rigid as his supposed Master was claiming him, the blue hedgehog reduced to trying to take this without squirming too much. Muscles seized up around the intrusion automatically but couldn't do anything but heighten an unfortunate Sonic's sensations around the invader even more, impossible heat letting the blue hips try to remove themselves instinctively, but Shadow was already swollen inside him and Sonic couldn't move an inch. The scent of midnight and crimson fur so close was still intoxicating, though, the blue speedster's gloved fingers yearning to roam through it but were restrained. If only he could distract himself a bit better until he had adjusted…if only he could get Shadow to pay some more attention to _another_ area that had been poking the black stomach for a while by now.

"Shads? How about...a little help here...?" Sonic panted, indicating with his eyes what he couldn't reach with his hands.

"What, there?" Shadow asked, supporting himself with one hand and reaching out with the other to briefly wrap his fingers around Sonic, letting his supposed pet nearly cry out. "I'm sorry, Sonic, but if I do that, the fun would be over too quickly," he informed the other pleasantly, going back to teasing as soon as the other had assured him that he was still okay. Green eyes managed to level a somewhat blushing glare at him, even if half-clouded by desire.

"You...fucking bastard..."

"What an apt description," Shadow smirked, moving his hand away again, but at least rubbing his abdomen a bit against his lover so as not to be totally heartless. Sonic merely turned his head away again.

"Phhht. See what I'll do to you once we're out of here and can repeat this thing without the shackles," he informed his lover, trying hard to let neither hurt nor pleasure break up his voice. _Damn that faker..._

But then again, there was that tiny part of him that actually _liked _the pain, too. Sonic was far from being a masochist, couldn't understand people cutting themselves, either, but…

If it meant adventure. If it was the sharp shock of a piece of shrapnel shooting past and cutting your arm as you ran from the explosion, if it was a daredevil snowboard stunt that let you end up with skinned knees, if it was that graze of an opponent's punch that you just didn't quite twist quickly enough to avoid. Sonic didn't like _bad _pain, pain that meant something was wrong, stemmed from broken bones, internal injuries or trauma to his head, pain that actually lasted. No. The sort the blue-furred hero found twistedly attractive was the kind that only added spice and adrenaline, the kind which had been acquired doing something new and exciting and dangerous – in sort, doing something he really, really shouldn't have done, but chose to do anyway.

_Like, for example, letting myself get screwed by my former rival in a medieval dungeon while execution is scheduled at dawn._

He almost had to laugh.

Then Shadow drove into him again and Sonic gave a strangled, hoarse cry as he felt the burning sensation rocketing skywards sharply.

"Nnngh…"

The black hedgehog paused, looking down at his supposed slave, emerald eyes squeezed shut as he was still straining to get used to what was filling his backside now, teeth bared and panting hard once more.

"Sonic…we can stop this. If it hurts you," Shadow insisted, trying to keep his voice steady against the pleasure engulfing him. Despite his teasing when the other had taunted him, he wasn't going to be able to truly enjoy this if Sonic didn't.

"S..stop?" To Shadow's surprise, the voice of the other actually sounded a lot less miserable than he had expected. "No…fucking…way."

"Oh?" The black hedgehog raised an eye ridge as the collared hero beneath him then actually opened eyes that were still burning with spirit, a defiant grin tugging at the edge of fawn lips even if he was still being spread uncomfortably by his supposed Master.

"I can take whatever you can dish out, thought ya knew that by now." Sonic smirked at him, his cheeks flushed at his position and slender chest heaving, but looking in no way unwilling or afraid. "Just try some more and I'm sure we can make this work….don't think I've tolerated your fingers for nothing, faker," he managed, his tone once again a challenge and more than temptation. Yes, the pain was bad and made harder to ignore by the fact that this was such a novel area for him to receive it in, but Sonic at the same time knew he'd gladly endure it even if it was two times worse, because he was together with Shadow...

"Hnn," the black hedgehog replied, apparently not quite convinced whether this show of bravado was genuine, but the sweating body beneath him, every single movement of his tight insides and silky walls sending waves of ecstasy through his nervous system despite him not even having entered fully yet was making it hard to think clearly.

"Fine," the Ultimate Lifeform finally acquiesced, "But if it hurts too much you tell me. Understood?"

"Yeah, whatever," Sonic waved him off, shackles rattling slightly. "I'm not made of glass, okay?"

"If you say so…" Shadow breathed in deeply, then at the same time pushing in deeper without warning, letting his supposed slave again tense, gasp and suppress a strangled whimper as he was ravaged, but showing no signs of calling a stop any time soon. If only this could be made any easier…

Shadow's body was already alight with desire, his rasping breath and shaking frame only illustrating his chaotic inner state. Sonic beneath him, taking him, felt far too good to bear and he had to restrain himself heavily not to simply drive into the now defenceless hedgehog as hard as he could, still not wanting to harm his supposed slave. The tightness let the black hedgehog tremble and sweat, control beginning to slip from his as his brain was slowly slipping into a pleasure-induced haze. Pangs of faintly familiar guilt made themselves known to him whenever Sonic winced or tried to stifle a whimper when he was driven into again, but at the same time, the sheer _heat _engulfing, compressing, massaging Shadow made it impossible to stop. Their sweat was mingling where their bodies touched and Sonic pressed into him from below. The black hedgehog could feel the other's chest rise as the slender runner's form under him tried to offer himself one more time, bringing his hip up to meet his supposed Master's, both to improve the angle and maybe gain some more friction against the other's belly fur…and in response the black hedgehog moved himself once more, this time nearly penetrating his partner all the way.

And Sonic jerked as if he had just been set on fire.

"_Aaah!_"

"Sonic?" Shadow asked with a touch of alarm, wondering whether he had finally managed to hurt the other seriously, the narrow, hot cavity suddenly constricting and flexing wildly, almost shutting Shadow up again. "Are you-?"

"Do…do that again, will you?" Sonic asked, eyes all at once wide and filled with excitement. "That…actually felt _good_..." he looked up at him, his cheeks flushed even more and a slightly surprised grin on his face as their gazes met. Shadow could feel his heart finally skip a bit as Sonic for the first time actually seemed to be enjoying this again and his own eyes lit up in return.

"Right…" he grunted, tentatively pushing forward again, abusing that tight ring of muscles even more, but gaining yet another positive reaction as Sonic now actually yelped after the initial pain was over, straining against his bound wrists and bucking against the other pinning him down. The sensation of first being violated painfully, then exploding with pleasure from within was almost too much to bear for the hero, especially if he had no control over it at all. And the crushing, swivelling hips of the other were about to drive him crazy...

"Damn…Shadow…" he panted, trembling in his trapped position, fighting to stay focused. The black hedgehog leaned forward, breaking the eye contact by forcing Sonic to close his as he kissed the other again. Shadow moved out slightly just to let the other squirm, then rolled his pelvis forward unannounced once more and smothered Sonic's instant gasp with his lips. He himself had trouble not to cry out and alert the guards at this point…

"Hhhh…" the blue hedgehog cringed, eyes squeezed shut again as his insides contorted at the new, impossible wave of pleasure, even stronger than the first. He was completely at the mercy of the other, couldn't move or escape and it was starting to drive him insane when Shadow did this to him…

"Sonic…" Shadow was breathing heavily as well, warm, strong blue thighs pressing against the sides of him, his muscles trembling from the exertion and the novel and intense sensation. Sonic felt like an all-consuming fire, igniting every part of his body, starting below…the Chaos energy inside him was prickling all over, stirred like never before.

Back then, Rouge had told him he apparently had 'excellent endurance' and he also vaguely recalled Professor Gerald mentioning once that he had designed Shadow with the aim of giving him greater control over his body in the face of stimulants, yet so far he had always connected that with being able to ignore pain from injuries in a fight instead of being able to hold back like this.

Sonic at this point gave the tiniest whine at Shadow having stopped for a moment and leaving him spread like this and the lips of the Ultimate Lifeform then actually twitched into the subtlest smirk.

He suddenly wondered again how far he could push this…

Once more leaning over Sonic, the black hedgehog began to enter his supposed slave again, Sonic only bucking occasionally but actually taking him a lot more easily now – and now Shadow went purposefully slowly and gently, not quite as deep as previously, leaving the collared hero beneath him to pant and groan, but unable to do anything else but to be slowly let himself reduced to a writhing mess...

"Stop…friggin _teasing_ me, you bastard…" Sonic rasped at this point, still that determined glint in his eye as he managed to focus his emerald gaze on Shadow. "Either you take me or you don't, but this just isn't fair…" he panted, teeth bared in a slightly strained but still demanding tone, knowing what the other was doing to him precisely, cheeks lit up as he hated and loved it at the same time.

"In that case…your wish is my demand," Shadow replied – and then thrust into the collared hedgehog harder than before, for the first time making the blue hero actually cry out loudly, wordlessly and hoarse, bucking up on the floor as he threw his spiked head back in involuntary reaction. Shadow immediately pressed his lips together, wondering whether he had finally managed to be careless enough to seriously hurt Sonic when he had entrusted himself to him, had let his own pleasure drive him too far. But the other was so _tight_ and the more difficult this made it for him the more shamefully blissful it became for Shadow…

"Sonic…" the black hedgehog whispered, reaching out for the blue face with those brilliant emerald eyes once again tightly shut, the other's expression relaxing only slowly as if he had been suffering…

But before he could make contact, Sonic's stare was already locked with his again, the blue speedster's gaze actually sparkling wickedly.

"Heh…knew you could do it."

Sonic was panting, still wriggling a bit to try and accustom himself to this new, rough treatment, but already he didn't mind that much any more, desire flooding his body in waves now, letting his insides contort in pleasure that Shadow had hit that special spot inside him hard enough to let him see stars on the dungeon ceiling.

_Wow…never knew it could feel like this. _

Shadow for a moment bent over Sonic again, supporting himself with both his hands braced against the floor on Sonic's sides and gazing down into his captive's face, his own lips slowly stretching into a smirk as he tried to keep his strained voice level.

"I see…is the pet trying to control the Master, again?" he asked, raising an amused eye ridge while at the same time once more rolling his hips into his unsuspecting supposed slave, just slightly harsher and more forceful than actually necessary and had the brief satisfaction of Sonic once again barely stopping himself from crying out as he was ungently claimed. "I think you're hardly in a….position…to try and play games, Sonic," Shadow purred, bringing their noses together and regarding the trembling hedgehog beneath him with his trademark superiority.

Then, to his surprise, he was suddenly abruptly brought closer as strong blue legs wrapped themselves around him and pulled him in, drawing a surprised gasp from the Ultimate Lifeform as he was involuntarily moved forward and driven in deeper, the increased pressure whipping through his system like an electric current.

"Hgaa-!" he called out, crimson eyes widening and when he looked down again, Sonic was smirking up at him just as smugly as the black hedgehog previously had felt.

"Oh yeah? Stop underestimating me, Shads," Sonic's breathing was ragged, the hedgehog's fur damp from sweat and exhaustion, but his eyes were gleaming as fiercely as ever. "Don'tcha think you're running this thing alone just 'cause I got my hands tied."

Shadow gave a small chuckle.

"Fine, then."

Their gazes locked, both alight with desire as much as with challenge.

"If you want to play it that way…" Shadow's tone was all but predatory, "…I'm going to make you _scream_ for your pleasure, Sonic."

The hedgehog beneath him only gave a shining grin in the darkness.

"You're on, faker…"

xxx

Sonic currently felt as if his entire world contained nothing more than hands touching him, lips exploring his body, breath washing over his fur and himself being filled until he couldn't take it any more. Shadow had promised he would be able to draw a scream from him, and right now the blue speedster once again couldn't help but think that he would soon make good on that, whether he liked it or not. Even though the collared hero didn't like to admit it, his bound wrists did put him at a severe disadvantage as Shadow's gloveless fingers were able to roam freely all over him, caressing his neck, his behind, squeezing the insides of his thighs, or even more sensitive body parts...

Sonic gasped as hardness and heat was forced even deeper inside him, but also had to admit by now he _liked_ being grasped roughly by Shadow and being claimed again and again. The hero of Mobius had not only always been a fan of brawling for fun or playing rough, but now was also revelling in allowing his body to be ravaged liked that and just to go with the flow of those powerful muscles pounding into him; it nearly turned him perversely on to be effectively rendered objectively helpless in his receiving position, abandoning any resistance as he floated on this isle of bliss, knowing that he was allowed temporary submission just this once without having to fear what would happen to him afterwards _and oh chaos it feels so good_.

The blue speedster knew that the next time he would likely have to try and raise himself into the thrusts, let his own muscles contribute something to their horizontal tango, but right now he was simply reduced to weak, quick occasional bucking under Shadow as he was moved from above, powerful blue legs twitching uselessly and restlessly against the stone. Of course, the collared hero also knew that, apart from when black hedgehog drove his body crazy, he was far from being as pliant and obedient as this - and most of the time, play-fighting, brawling or arguing over either plans and strategies, or simply everyday things with the black hedgehog was just as fun with their explosive personas, both in and out of battle.

As if to prove his point, Sonic retaliated with his tongue when he could, occasionally managing to lift his upper body high enough to crush those fawn lips with a rough kiss, his own breath spilling down a black-spined back as he was pounded into, his supposed owner's hips rolling into him again and again like the unstoppable and incessant motion of waves at a ravaged shore. Sonic tried to adjust himself, control the angle at which he was invaded so he could keep up with Shadow's rhythm, but the other wasn't making this so easy for him, varying his force and sometimes even missing that sweet spot inside Sonic on purpose, or at least that was how it seemed to the collared hero; he huffed and panted in frustration, so close to the edge, yet not allowed to release yet, it was maddening. And then Shadow drove into him again, even more forcefully than the blue speedster had expected and he was forced to bite into the other's shoulder to stifle the cry he didn't want to give yet.

Sonic liked being able to make Shadow happy, felt turned on (and rather cocky) by the fact that the black hedgehog was giving it up just for him. The Ultimate Lifeform's eyes in turn were shining with honest happiness that Sonic trusted him so much to give Shadow the opportunity to drive him to ecstasy beneath him, blue features scrunched up in a grimace of pain and pleasure, blue body writhing in a rapture that let the black hedgehog feel proud.

Next, though, Shadow already gave a hoarse yelp as his insubordinate slave's teeth sunk into his fur and skin, not having expected that, but not disappointed with the reaction he was getting either. Sonic soon was forced to let himself sink back onto his back with his head against the stones again his body already not his to control anymore, and that meant Shadow could just continue his game. The Ultimate Lifeform's own erratic pacing was more due to the fact that he himself had trouble controlling any of his movements right now, any thought processes going haywire in the mad ecstasy he had been plunged into. Sonic was incredibly tight and flexible around him, the first one to let him feel like this and this made it all the more precious to Shadow, who loved letting that blue body yield to him under his touch, feeling it quiver and flinch under his fingers, begging for more. The now utterly defenceless hedgehog was like a writhing puppet beneath him, moving at Shadow's will; muscles tensing and relaxing to whatever buttons the black hedgehog decided to try and push next, helpless to his curious exploration.

Sonic could feel himself actually building up ever more, every time Shadow connected with that pulsing nerve bundle inside of him he wanted to cry out, yet refused to give the other that satisfaction...yet. It wasn't until strong black hands finally surprised him by grasping both his twitching thighs and lifting them both upwards and mercilessly straight into Shadow just as the black hedgehog thrust forward one last time, green eyes going wide as the hero of Mobius finally found himself suddenly completely flat on his back, legs in the air while Shadow had just invaded him as deeply as possible, that Sonic finally gave up and screamed.

xxx

This time, _Knuckles_ had been the one who thought he had just heard Sonic scream something, but mainly because of what that scream had sounded like, he chose to _not _share this information with Tails working beside him– the echidna privately thought the kid was traumatized enough as it was.

_To be continued..._

_

* * *

_Note: I would have almost titled this thing 'Right There, Ride On', but stopped myself just in time. Second choice: Race To Win. XD

Aaaaalrighty! Happy Valentine's /Single Awareness day to all of you, hope you enjoy the chappie while I am neck-deep in exams. Review replies coming, but postponed until I have a spare second to hand. ;) Lessee, what else is there...?

First of all, thanks to Skyblaze, _again, _because I suck at romance/dialogue and getting Shadow to say the l-word is a bitch to write. :P

Then, we have FANART once more! This time from ~rah742, and it's Sonic with a sword looking badass, so you should definitely check it out and comment - link on my profile ;)

Finally, hope this thing was readable - for all it was worth, I think I learned a bit about describing action-scenes and making them tangible, and no, not just _that _kind of action, I think the principles about constructing paragraphs are actually pretty universal. ;) If any of you decide they want to write/post a lemon, after my research for this chappie by now I actually have quite the helpful link collection on how to produce that kind of fiction, so you can ask - or, alternatively, bug Skyblaze. XD

Last usual ramble, mostly getting my things for Marocco sorted now, and also been bitten by the Detective Conan/Phantom Thief Kaitou Kid bug *hard* - if there's going to be a crossover on my other account where Knuckles is trying to tear a white-clad, probably very confused gentleman thief apart for trying to steal his Emerald, you shouldn't be suprised. :P Hope to see you all next chapter when we all meet -gasp!- the PLOT again! XD


	45. The End

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to put up this announcement to apologize for the lack in updates recently. The problem is that for a good while now I feel like I have lost the inspiration and the tone of the story. please read to the very end of this post and you may understand.

I know this will probably upset you and I am really, truly sorry, but I don't think I will be able to continue this fanfiction, or at least won't be able to continue it in the near future, after I have gotten my life organized properly. I have received tons of support from you and am so grateful to have found such a wonderful crowd. You don't deserve me giving up on you, I know that. I will still feature some updates on my other, regular account, but He Is My Master is as of now on indefinite hiatus.

I suppose it's a good thing I at least didn't end the last chapter on a cliffhanger, right? I also suppose it's a good thing that today is the first of April and you don't have to take any of the nonsense I tend to post today seriously, if you didn't figure that already. :P So, official joke over, second reason for posting this is actually that I received a lot of reviews and PMs asking in (more and sometimes less) polite tones about my whereabouts and a general tone of Where The Hell Is The Next Update, so lemme address this: 1) New chapter is 85 percent done, should be up next week, 2) Reasons for absence include exams, job-hunt, trip to Morocco and North Africa conveniently deciding to announce WWIII while I was down there, more exams, essay insanity (I get geek points, because I managed to hand in a 12-page scientific paper exclusively about _Pokémon), _applications to Japanese Universities and scary-as-hell phone interviews in friggin Japanese (and after I have sent the papers in, they have a nuclear crisis. As much as I feel for the Japanese people, I wonder whether I should just stop travelling altogether, since I seem to be like a magnet for destruction. You should've seen the number of floods, bush fires, droughts and oil spills they had in Australia alone whenever I went there...), so, yeah, real-life stress. But I'm alive and healthy, so I'm not complaining. Lastly, 3) We have an absolutely awesmazing fanart to feature next chapter, so stick around. Shouldn't be too long now, almost done with the uni stuff. :D

-Chiisai Kitsune


	46. It Has Come To This

I'm baaaaaack! Nearly two weeks after the April Fool's announcement but still something, right? :P Unless you're gonna hate me for the end of this thing...^^° But yeah, let's rejoin our two heroes in the cell! Again a WARNING! M-Rated Content! For anyone not caring what the two have been to during the night, please read on after the next page break line. :P

* * *

**WARNING! M-Rated Content! Please proceed to next page break line (like the one above) to proceed without brain** **haemorrhage! :D** Anyone else might just wanna re-read the last two real chapters to get back into the mood of things...:P

** xxx**

**Chapter 45: It Has Come To This**

_Well...this is somewhat messy..._

Shadow could have guessed that this thought probably didn't make for very good pillow talk, but at the same time it fortunately was also entirely unimportant. Sonic had just spilled onto his chest and stomach, shouting the black hedgehog's name as his face had screwed up in what had seemed something like a crisscross between unbearable torture and incredible bliss. Shadow had thought he outcry of his lover's voice had been the most wonderful noise he had ever heard, but in combination with the sudden, simultaneous complete spasming of those tight inner walls engulfing him, it was nearly enough to send him over the edge as well.

_His name...Sonic had called out his name like there was nothing more important than Shadow on Earth..._

The Ultimate Lifeform sped up as he could feel himself racing to his own climax now. The mixed feelings of triumph that he had been able to make Sonic feel like this, as well as his amazement and gratitude stemming from the fact that the blue hedgehog had willingly given himself to him, were enough to override any concerns of his body to conserve any energy and he was using up his last reserves.

"Sha...dow..." Sonic panted after he had already screamed the name of his partner after he had climaxed, the collared hedgehog now in a complete daze, only vaguely aware that things had just gotten a lot stickier between them. He could still feel his entrance being roughly abused and backside filled with harder and more merciless thrusts as Shadow was apparently building up for a finale himself. The sight of the black hedgehog exerting himself above him was nearly enough for Sonic to become aroused again, had he not been completely exhausted by now. Even if the treatment he was currently receiving was slightly harsher than it had been at the beginning, the collared hedgehog grew increasingly aware that there was probably no way he would be able to get out of this now in his helpless position in Shadow's grip while his muscles had seemingly all turned to blueberry jelly. So he would just have to endure it...

"Shadow...thanks," he managed, even when he was cut short by his own yelp as he was just thrust into especially forcefully, the other's pacing now really erratic as he was no doubt about to climax as well. The pain coupled with the feeling of the afterglow that still wrecked him with waves of pleasure when Shadow would not stop stimulating him was almost impossible to bear. In a last, desperate attempt to let this end, Sonic managed to lift himself upwards one last time, disregarding what this meant for the angle at which he was penetrated and managed to seal Shadow's surprised lips with a kiss – and before the collared speedster could even think about whether the other could have been planning to move out of him beforehand or not, it had already happened. With a gasp and another involuntary spasm, Sonic could feel himself for the first time being filled by his supposed Master, warmth shooting into him and letting heat rush into his cheeks once more as the feeling spread through his body. It was almost similar to when he had let Shadow put the new collar on him, but unbearably more intense...

He looked into those red eyes belonging to the black hedgehog who was supposed to own him and couldn't help but smile as he could see that similar thoughts just as loving were mirrored in them, the Ultimate Lifeform now likewise visibly overwhelmed.

"Sonic..." Shadow whispered. He had not yelled his partner's name as he had come inside him, yet the softness with which he for once uttered it therefore made it all the more precious to the hero of Mobius (not least because so far, usually it had been said in mostly much more _exasperated_ tones...)

"Yeah?" Sonic replied quietly with a tired, but contented smile, still a bit disbelieving what the other had just put him through and how he himself had initiated it. A small voice was also busy being excited about the fact that he now, at seventeen, was not a virgin anymore, another voice was questioning whether this, in fact counted as the 'real deal' though, and a third, thankfully louder voice told both of them to shut it, because the owner of all three voices knew he was in love with Shadow, and that was the important part. Now the blue hero could feel himself being gently lowered down against the wall again, legs sliding off the other and he was made aware that his supposed Master also was finally moving out of him, more liquid spilling out onto his lower body as Sonic was unable to hold it back. For a moment he couldn't help but imagine being filled like that again and again, getting claimed and taking it gladly, and the blue speedster's smile grew into an slightly larger weary grin.

"That was good..." Shadow managed to finally reply, still atop him as he bedded the limp and yielding blue form of his unresisting supposed pet on the stone floor again, coming to rest above him with one arm holding him up, their noses nearly touching again.

_He had seen stars, just like decades ago in space...that red-hot feeling surging through him, drowning out everything else just like turning Super..._

"Understatement of the century," Sonic responded quietly, gazing up into his lover's eyes, spreading his legs underneath Shadow and angling one of them a bit to rub the inside against the side of the other's thigh and hip, caressing the only way he could while his hands were still disabled. "Y'know, for a first time it sure felt like ya knew what you were doing..." he purred, nuzzling the other gently. For the first time after their act, a tired version of a smirk crept back upon the the Ultimate Lifeform's lips, even if Sonic could read correctly in the satisfied glow of his eyes that his compliment had hit home.

"Well, whoever said you were the only god of improvisation around here, blue hedgehog...?" Shadow asked, finally coming to rest half on his side on the floor, half on his belly on Sonic, one black hand already idly running through peach chest fur, the other keeping his head up. Green eyes shot him a faintly mocking look.

"Just you wait 'till next time when I've got my hands free, Shadow..." he retorted, although he could already feel his eyes closing and his utterly exhausted body finally giving in to sleep, every nerve and his brain by now coated in complete warm and fuzzy fluff that was so much more comfortable than the cold, hard dungeon floor. But Shadow on top of him was heavy and warm...the collared hero on impulse couldn't help but nuzzle into the other's soft white patch of fur, already half-way curled up and as comfortable with the other's scent enveloping him as he could be.

"Sonic?" Shadow's voice came, letting the chest the blue hedgehog had his head nestled into vibrate a little, his supposed owner sounding halfway between faintly amused and genuinely soft.

"Yeah...?" Sonic asked back, eyes closed now and barely awake at this point.

"I'll love you as long as you want me to..."

It was the last thing Shadow whispered into a barely raised blue ear before finally sliding off into much-needed sleep, and together with the black and red-streaked arms softly wrapping themselves around the blue hedgehog's torso it ensured that the fastest thing alive soon followed, feeling safe in the other's embrace now, no matter what the world could throw at them.

* * *

xxx** M-Rated Content! Section End! **(but beware of implications...) xxx

Sonic awoke feeling as if the universe had taken him, put him on the anvil of eternity, raised a sledgehammer called the Big Bang, and then pounded him for the better part of an era. And when he opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Shadow, it was not only the blush flushing across his cheeks that gave away how close that mental image had seemed to reality for him.

_Hell_ if he told that to the black hedgehog, though, that guy's ego was big enough as it was.

"Good morning, Sonic."

"Yah!" Sonic jerked properly awake with a gasp in the very next second though, as suddenly something wet and cold pressed against his lower abdomen. The shackles around his wrists clanged against the wall when the body of the blue hedgehog bucked at the unwelcome sensation, reminding the collared hero fiercely that they were still in the dungeon – and judging by the faint, grey sunlight filtering through the bars in the high, small window, were supposed to be executed very soon indeed.

But still, despite death imminent in the very future, there was also a cold washcloth annoying his midsection right _now_, and a hero had to set priorities.

"What are you doing?" Sonic asked, almost stopping when he realized how hoarse his voice sounded. Damn that faker…

Emerald eyes managed to focus themselves and looked downwards, where he could now see Shadow's hand clutching a bunch of straws, soaking them in their drinking bowl and then rubbing them over his lower abdomen, repeating the process for the second time now. Sonic tried unsuccessfully to twist and escape the treatment.

"Cleaning you up," Shadow replied casually while dunking the straw for another round. "I would imagine you'd like to face the firing squad a bit less…sticky."

"It's cold, leave me alone!" he protested – and then immediately cringed as his rolling motion had put pressure on a certain body part that was right now very, very sore.

"Ah! Oww…." Sonic winced, eyes squeezed shut, shifting back so he was lying a bit more on his back and side again. Of course, for his troubles he immediately received the next wet rub, but was in too much discomfort to fight back again at the moment.

"Sore?" Shadow asked with just the faintest hint of amusement that for Sonic at this point was enough to wish he would be able to kill the black hedgehog himself. Emerald eyes opened themselves to a weak glare.

"Of course I am, you striped jerk," Sonic grumbled, his body only twitching weakly now at the continued water treatment, privately knowing that if Shadow was intent on cleaning _all_ of him, this actually wasn't even the worst part yet. "Be glad I haven't yet kicked your sorry butt out of the cell…"

Shadow raised an eye ridge. "Interesting. So far, the only one fond of one-night-stands I've met is Rouge." But before Sonic could even think of a reply, the black hedgehog had already scooted in much closer and was now brushing his lips softly against the side of the other's head, a hand lying itself gently on his tan-furred chest to stroke him softly. "Sonic…I'm sorry if I hurt you," Shadow whispered, and already, the soreness didn't seem so bad to Sonic anymore as soon as those fingers caressed him again. "But you don't regret last night, do you?"

"No," the hero of Mobius breathed, before turning his own head and again claiming Shadow's lips for the first kiss in the light of the new day that could be their last. The black hedgehog leaned into him, closing his own crimson eyes, lost in the moment…before he smirked, pulled back and replied "Good," – just before pushing the dripping, icy straw bundle into the _last_ place an unaware Sonic had wanted it to go.

Shadow thought that the following shriek of the collared hero could probably have been heard through the entire dungeon complex.

xxx

"I hate you."

"I love you."

"Funny thing to say, my Master," Sonic shot back, the words again drenched in enough sarcasm to make children cry three blocks over, "You _usually_ say you love me whenever you put me into misery straight afterwards."

"I object," Shadow replied calmly, the black hedgehog now seated opposite his supposed slave (and noticeably out of reach of strong blue legs that could still kick) and cleaning his own clotted belly fur with a fresh handful of straw. "I'm sure you really wouldn't have wanted the guards to see you like this. I heard one is supposed to look good on big days."

The cleaning had been brief but been done with much vigour (and even more shouting and futile kicking on the collared hero's part) and Sonic supposed it might have been less uncomfortable if he hadn't struggled so much as Shadow had been cleaning the more private areas – even if no less embarrassing. Sonic scowled faintly, still preferring to lie on his back rather than to sit upright, grimly supposing he might be sore for a while. But then again, while he wouldn't admit it to Shadow right at this point, it sure _had_ been worth it….

"Yeah, well, if I had a choice in the matter I'd wish the 'festivities' for today would be postponed indefinitely," Sonic cut his own train of thought off and Shadow wondered whether he had detected just a hint of tension underneath the off-handed sarcasm in Sonic's casual tone. Was the blue hedgehog really thinking they might...?

"Don't worry. We'll see to it that they are," Shadow said, his tone smooth and movements collected as he brushed the last of the straw off himself and Sonic had to stifle a small voice in the back of his head grumbling how it was _so_ unfair how well-groomed and glossy the black hedgehog's coat still looked, despite Sonic's appearance being not unlike a street mutt that had been through a wringer _factory_.

Shadow shifted slightly at this point and seemed to be mulling something over in his head. When he looked at Sonic again, his face had again become more serious and he took a breath.

"If not..." he started, then paused. Sonic raised his drooping ear in question as the Ultimate Lifeform was suddenly staring at the floor for a moment, as if he was debating with himself whether to say something. Finally, he looked up.

"You know...if you're _really _concerned about the execution..."

"Yeah?" Sonic asked, now honestly curious what Shadow was about to say. It _was _a niggling concern at the back of his mind.

The black hedgehog curled one hand into a fist briefly. "Scourge...has made you an offer."

"What?" Sonic's reply now was dead-pan.

"If you submit to him and accept his collar, he will let your life be spared," Shadow replied darkly. "Lazar was kind enough to deliver that message."

"Submit...you mean..." Sonic asked, and Shadow nodded.

"Yes. Though I don't doubt you would be able to escape eventually," the black hedgehog replied in a casual tone, even if he said nothing of the fact that Scourge would have wanted to 'enjoy' Sonic in that case in front of him personally as a last affront.

Sonic stared at him silently for a moment, green eyes unreadable. Finally, he spoke carefully.

"If I let him...would he let you go, too?" he asked, and once again, Shadow was almost unable to speak at what Sonic had just implied. What he would do to save Shadow's life.

The black hedgehog shook his head, walking over to squat down next to Sonic still forced to sit against the wall. "No. But you could save your own life."

And Sonic only gave him the same mocking grin he had given him whenever Shadow had failed to grasp something.

"Sorry, Shads. _Totally _wrong address here," he said, and, since still nobody was watching them, Sonic chose that last opportunity to plant a soft kiss on his lover's muzzle. "You're only one who ever got to take me, and when we go, we'll go together."

"...as you wish," Shadow finally answered a rare trace of content in his voice, and met the other's lips right back.

"Right. So we get to plan our escape now, or what?" Sonic cocked his head as he looked up at his supposed Master next who had stood up again and walked over the bars of the cell again, looking out into the corridor to wait for the small executioner procession that would undoubtedly arrive soon. Shadow ran a hand across his eyes.

"I would suggest we let ourselves be shackled or whatever methods of restraint hey might try to employ and let them walk us out into the courtyard. As soon as we are out in the open, wait for my signal – I'll probably just shout 'now' or something to that effect," the black hedgehog said, and Sonic's eyes briefly narrowed as he questioned himself whether he had just imagined that the Ultimate Lifeform somehow sounded...tired?

"First action is to break lose from our chains. Rope, no problem. If they have put us in iron...well, I'll just have to kill the guard with the keys while you keep them off my back, I suppose." Shadow smirked darkly. Sonic looked at him sceptically.

"Hnh."

"After that...well, if we can sense the Emerald in the near vicinity, we might as well make a grab for it. Black Doom's nerve gas, as said, should be harmless out in the open – just be careful when getting close to him. If it isn't..." Shadow hesitated. "...if it isn't, we leave the castle. Keep running for a while until we're out of their immediate radius. Then plan another attack for later," he finished and again, Sonic's brows drew together the tiniest bit as he once again wondered if he should be worried that Shadow advised this retreat so uncharacteristic of the usually battle-thirsty Ultimate Lifeform positively _thriving_ on revenge. Was the other alright?

Sonic wanted to ask, but couldn't. That would have been implying weakness of the Ultimate Lifeform, after all...and it wasn't like he wasn't worried enough already. There were enough holes in that plan even he could see and Shadow had to know about them himself. No. Better to put on his characteristic smile of a hero and hope to anybody who was listening that his usual luck would pull them both through. Worrying was useless here – and _dangerous_ if it would distract them later. Sonic tried to convince himself of that, and, oddly enough, it wasn't actually too hard to stretch his lips into a smile when he looked at Shadow again. He wasn't alone and they could get through this. Together.

"Sounds like we're all set, then," Sonic commented, before indicating the straw at his left side with a nod of his head. "Wanna sit down next to your mobility-challenged hedgehog before the big bad comes to get us?" he asked, smile turning just a bit more sincere when Shadow turned his head. He shuffled into the most upright position his sore behind would allow. The Ultimate Lifeform seemed to see this and allowed a small twitch of his own lips as he inclined his head.

"Of course."

Sonic made a bit of space that his shackled hands would allow as Shadow sank next to him into the straw and then, thinking he was at least entitled to that now, let his body just lean a bit against the dark hedgehog again, briefly closing his eyes at the warmth and the now familiar scent of the other that let him feel just a bit more at home no matter how crazy this alien dimension was. And if the way the black body relaxed against him as well was any indication, Shadow apparently felt the same way. For a few moments, none of the two tired heroes said anything as they leaned against each other and the cold dungeon wall, Sonic's head on Shadow's shoulder, Shadow's head on his, just listening to the breathing of their partner. In a rare gesture, Sonic could even feel one of his black-furred supposed Master's arms come around to lay across his shoulders, ungloved fingers brushing so gently over his collar bone as if Shadow wasn't even consciously aware of doing it. Sonic took that as an incentive to lift his head again, giving a tired grin to his pretend owner.

"We're quite a pair, aren't we?"

"Quite," was Shadow's short, but not entirely unamused rumble in answer.

"Would you ever have even dreamed of this before we came here?" Sonic asked, one eye ridge raised in interest.

The black hedgehog considered his answer this time, dark fingers trailing a few more lines through blue and peach fur as he contemplated. Sonic for once didn't mind the wait.

"Perhaps," the black hedgehog finally admitted – right before adding: "If I had had at least three pizzas_ al tonno_ before bed time, that is, I'm almost certain a relationship with you would have been included in my night terrors."

"Jerk," was Sonic's apt reply, complete with a blue knee shoving against dark legs, and the collared hedgehog this time was nearly _sure _he had just caught the Ultimate Lifeform actually _chuckling _at one of his own jokes. He laid his head back against his supposed Master regardless.

"I didn't exactly expect this either, y'know," Sonic said quietly, "But... I'm glad it happened."

"Yes."

Such a simple word, and Sonic already felt as if there had just been another one of those personal sunrises within him. He settled for simply turning his head and searching Shadow's mouth for another kiss, this one less tame than the one they had shared previously. Shadow gladly complied. Both hedgehogs could feel their hearts beating faster, black hands encircling the collared hero's torso, running up and down through his fur as Shadow had shifted more onto his side. Finally, they broke apart, leaning their foreheads against each other, panting.

"Last night...how was it for you? Really?" Shadow asked, his voice low, but red eyes intense. Sonic could almost have chuckled at the seriousness with which the other asked that question, as if it was a matter of life and death. Really, in the blue speedster's opinion Shadow needed to lighten up about some things – and Sonic was more than willing to teach him about _all_ of them.

The hero of Mobius gave his supposed Master a lazy smile. "Well...like I said, no regrets," he purred, forcing himself neither to blush nor to let his voice break as he once again couldn't help but remember that tight feel of Shadow inside him."Next time, though..."

"So eager already?" the dark hedgehog gave a predatory smirk. Sonic bonked their heads together.

"Quit that. I'm just sayin that next time, I'd like to do a few things differently." he added, letting his head fall back again and his smile turn into a cocky grin as Shadow's eyes gleamed with a flash of amusement. "Specifically, positions," the blue hedgehog said, poking his tongue out in provocation.

"Is that so?" Shadow asked back, a playful growl already beneath his words, his hand burying itself possessively into Sonic's taut abdomen as he shifted to be more atop than beside the blue speedster, teeth slightly bared in challenge. "What if I object?"

"You would be in for a surprise, my Master," Sonic retorted, slender hips bucking slightly against the dark-furred hands trying to pin him down again, grin turning into a wicked smirk. Shadow's fingers left a tingle wherever they touched him and the blue hedgehog couldn't help but marvel at how much he enjoyed this new level their relationship had ascended to – no more awkwardness at exchanged caresses, both casual and more intimate touches now a source of comfort instead of embarrassment. He had given himself over completely to Shadow, and yet hadn't lost a single thing; but rather gained something new. Utter and complete trust..._and love. _

"Sonic..." Shadow buried his face in the crook of Sonic's neck and shoulder and his tone didn't seem to be able to decide whether it should be sultry or breathless. A shudder ran through Sonic's form and his body sank back against the ground; resistance broken.

"Shadow..." he whispered, voice hoarse as he could feel where this was leading again. But they couldn't – _no way, no matter how nice it was, right now it still feels like I had a broomstick shoved up there! - _but then it was all too late anyway.

"Ah, how ssweet. I hope you enjoyed your pet thisss night, my Prince – it will have been the lassst time you did."

"And just to think, somewhere there probably lives a poor lisping person who would be glad for all those 's'," Sonic muttered under his breath resentfully as Shadow immediately rolled smoothly back to his feet with a curse, standing straight to glare at Lazar and the Sapients he'd brought along.

"A dungeon rat. Interesting. And just when I thought this place was actually pleasantly vermin-free," the Ultimate Lifeform replied evenly. Yellow lizard eyes flashed in anger.

"You're the, the _pessst_ that's going to die today," Lazar hissed, unaware of the less-than-happy looks even the guards and jailer seemed to be shooting him. Apparently, the purple reptile was not a very popular person all around. In total, there were eight people outside the cell now, five guards comprised of the more muscular variants of Sapients, the rhinos Sonic and Shadow were already familiar with, but also two bears and a mare, as well as the bulldog dungeon master that had already been there during the night they had first arrived here, Hammer or Anvil or something to the effect of that. Also, for some reason one of the guards was holding Manic on a leash, the green hedgehog shooting both of them a both frightened and heart-breaking glance.

"Keep telling yourself that," Shadow replied coolly, and only Sonic could detect the little signs that the Ultimate Lifeform was far from as relaxed as he appeared on the surface. The guards looked tough and somewhat more competent than the normal cannon fodder you were usually up against as protagonist, and one of them held what looked like handcuffs made from metal.

"The sssound of your choking will be _musssic_ to my earss," Lazar snarled in reply and when Sonic only opened his mouth to retort with a comment on how the lizard would _need_ to have ears in the first place for that to be possible, twitching his own for amused emphasis, the reptile looked ready to cremate the two sentenced prisoners on the spot by glares alone.

"What is Manic doing here?" Sonic asked instead, switching back from jocular to serious, and Lazar's lips in turn curled into a cruel smirk.

"Prince Sscourge may have left the casstle, but he noticed you ssseemed to get along well with him. And now, to ssstop hiss little pet from getting any _ideass _from watching you, he made ssure I will force him to watch you _die_,"the lizard explained, uttering the last word like one would the name of a beloved, while Manic seemingly had to fight back the tears. "Get them out. Now. No further delaysss," he hissed, and the bear holding the handcuffs stepped forward.

"Put your arms through the bars," he said, snapping the dark shackles open. "We will come in and get you once these are on."

Shadow eyed the restraints, unimpressed, and did as he was told. In truth, things were looking pretty good so far – the only other items they had brought appeared to be rope to bind Sonic, and the blue speedster would be able to cut through that. As for Shadow, they would soon learn that a mere pair of handcuffs wasn't much of a hindrance when it came to his fighting abilty – you could throw Chaos Spears even with your hands shackled together, after all.

And kill with Chaos Blast with no hands at all.

Shadow extended both of his arms through the same gap between two bars while his face remained a mask. Sonic was watching the proceedings from his prone position on the ground carefully, the blue speedster undoubtedly thinking along similar lines and also aware that the risky game they were now playing for their lives had just begun. Shadow tried not to rest too obviously on the support of the steel bars as he leaned on them; the longer he was awake and the more he moved around, the louder his entire body screamed at him how it was running on empty. This dimension did not have as much ambient Chaos energy as their homeworld and Shadow could feel the drain caused by the lack of sleep, food and the exertion of the last week had left him with. And then there had been last night...

_Which, solely in the energy department, might have been a tactical error, _Shadow conceded mentally with an internal wince. But damn, if that blue-furred bastard couldn't be persuasive if he wanted to..

Yet that wasn't important right now. Shadow was more than familiar with the need to be able to pull himself together in stressful situations and even if he was far from being at full power right now, he was still sure he would be able to wield the fury of Chaos for a few attacks if he had to. So he extended his forearms through the bars with reasonable confidence...

And then nearly felt his knees buckle underneath him as a black wave of nausea hit him when the handcuffs clicked shut.

"Ahh!"

"Shadow!" Sonic's cry rang out alarmed and clear at the Ultimate Lifeform's hoarse exclamation and stumble; Shadow's chained hands came up to grasp at his forehead, eyes squeezed shut in distress and pain, yet Lazar's dry lips had only twisted in sneering amusement at the display in front of him, his ex-Prince fumbling for the support of the wall while his blue-furred pest of a pet was writhing futilely in the chains still shackling him to the floor.

"_What have you done to him?_!_"_

"Just a few...necesssary preparationss. Hiss Majessty gave them to me for thiss purpossse," the purple reptile replied serenely, looking at Shadow with sadistic glee. The black hedgehog was by now leaning against the dark rock of the dungeon wall to his left, panting heavily and glaring through eyes glazed over by distress at the lizard and his troupe. The handcuffs weren't so much as linked to each other by a chain, it became now apparent, but were rather two separate bands, made from some darkly glistening material and decorated with now cruelly pulsating, _glowing_ red runes. But other than their colour and obvious effect, Sonic couldn't help but notice that they actually suspiciously looked like -

"Power rings," Shadow rasped. "Goddamn it, not this _again_..."

The Ultimate Lifeform could still remember how his creator Professor Gerald under the orders of GUN had banded him back in his childhood aboard the ARK with his restraining bracelets around wrists and ankles. At first, they had been torture, had sucked the power right out of him until he had finally learned to overcome them, make them serve _him _and help him to control the Chaos energy inside his body, but _these_ rings were different. They had never been meant to help, but only to subdue. Just as this strange parallel dimension seemed to be nothing but a twisted, distorted version of their world, these black rings were an evil parody of his own, a sadist's twist added to yet another copied concept. Shadow fought to stay upright, his expression defiant even if his heart beat in alarm. How was he supposed to escape now when he could barely get his legs to cooperate, nevermind activate his skates?

"Thisss should enssure his cooperation," Lazar stated happily. "Ssecure him; then ssecure the other."

"Shadow! Dammit, leave him alone-!" Sonic shouted as the guards finally moved into the cell, crowding around the black hedgehog unable to fend them off. At the same time, a pair of them also neared Sonic, albeit a bit more cautiously - green eyes were blazing in desperation as the collared hero was forced to watch his partner being dragged off and served as a warning to all approaching him. Still, knowing that kicking at his captors now would have minimized his chances of getting out of this cell, Sonic forced himself to stay still as they tied his wrists together with rope, then released his shackles and dragged him upright. Both a rhino and the horse were still holding onto both of his arms on two sides, though, making escape for the moment much too difficult. Lazar seemed to see the alarm in both their eyes and scaly lips once again parted in a smile.

"Hiss Majestsy expected you to, ah, not go quietly," he said, watching both bound hedgehogs in the middle of the guards outside the cell now. "That iss why we have taken every conssideration to enssure you do. But pleasse don't give up yet – I do ssso enjoy watching prissoners ssquirm before their execution, their futile glancesss back and forth when no help isss coming." Black claws clicked as he snapped his fingers at the Sapients holding fallen Prince and pet. "Get moving."

xxx

"Shadow," Sonic whispered as soon as they had started walking through the dungeon corridors, Lazar at the head of their procession and not paying any more heed to them, "What's wrong?"

The black hedgehog turned a pained glance at his partner. They were being dragged forwards by their bound wrists and by hands grasping their upper arms, but allowed to walk beside each other and the guards didn't seem to care for their whispered conversation.

"These are...corrupted power rings," the Ultimate Lifeform managed through gritted teeth. "They suck the Chaos energy right out of me and turn it poisonous inside me." A wince accompanied that last statement, going straight through Sonic's heart. "I can barely walk."

_I won't make it out of this one, _seemed to be the implied statement.

"Damn," Sonic uncharacteristically bit his lip, that familiar feeling of dread settling in his stomach, reminding him too much of that moment when he had truly believed Robotnik would jettison him from the ARK to explode in space. He fought it down.

"Don't give up yet," he whispered to Shadow. We can still make it through this."

The black hedgehog, shoved forward by one of their captors from behind, didn't reply.

xxx

Sonic raised his head as they emerged from the corridors of the castle blinking into the faint light of the early morning. The court was chock-full, people of all sizes and sorts pressing against each other, trying to get a clear view of their former Prince dragged along by the guards. Sonic could see sweat matting the fur on Shadow's forehead, the breathing of the black hedgehog more and more laboured as the black rings around his wrists sucked him dry of his remaining energy. Uncontrolled rage roared through the collared hero's mind as the one he loved was mistreated and abused in such a fashion when he couldn't even fight back. Sonic gritted his teeth to keep himself from lashing out at their captors right now, furious, injured sense of justice burning in his gaze. Green eyes narrowed as he could see several archers and Sapients armed with crossbows on the walls of the castle, their weapons trained on them. The hero of Mobius swallowed. Normally, that wouldn't have posed a problem – both he and Shadow could dodge _bullets_, after all – but with Shadow in his current state Sonic wasn't at all sure whether the other would be able to protect himself.

His throat constricted.

_This is SO not going great..._

Sonic tried to look around some more, but a harsh yank on his arm by one of the guards holding him let him stumble into place again. The crowd parted in front of them...

To reveal the gallows.

The wooden contraption stood tall, thin and dark against the steely sky above, like a skeleton creaking in the wind. Sonic in his time had seen more than one instrument designed to kill him, but for some reason, this simple, tried-and-tested means to end someone's life had a grim finality to it all the sophisticated, shiny and modern appliances Robotnik had devised over the years had seemed to lack.

"You get to die asss you lived, hedgehog – standing on a pedesstal, and ass a circusss for everyone elsse," Lazar mocked him and for the first time, Shadow raised his head again.

"Where is Black Doom?" he asked, voice hoarse, but steady. Lazar spat on the ground.

"The King hass better thingss to do than witnesss the extermination of traitorss," he informed them with disdain. "He iss occupied elssewhere."

_So no Emerald here,_ flitted through Sonic's mind, but it hardly mattered to him at this point. More important was that they could get out of here, and that he somehow could save Shadow. Perhaps the fact that Black Doom was absent would even help them.

"Let them mount the sstairss."

The wooden platform with the trapdoor embedded into it was approximately three metres off the ground, a set of rickety stairs leading up to it. The area of the lofty stage for the lethal show to be produced upon it was perhaps four square metres itself, wide enough for at least five unfortunate individuals to stand next to each other in their final moments of life. Now, though, only two nooses dangled in the cold wind, each of them at the exact head height of a hedgehog.

Sonic put the first of his sneakers onto the groaning wooden step. His heart was trying to run a marathon in his chest now, and probably trying to beat the set records of its owner.

_I don't want to die here. I CAN'T let us die here._

Another glance back at Shadow only assured Sonic that he had to do something. The other's head was tilted downward, the black hedgehog nearly unable to stand. Shadow couldn't give any kind of signal now; Sonic had to get them both out of here.

Five more steps to the top...

He surveyed the courtyard again. There were even more people now and still a steady trickle of spectators kept coming through the castle gate. Well, that would be an exit...

Three more steps to the top...

"Sonic...try to escape without me. There's no sense in both of us dying here."

Two.

"Told ya before. No. Way."

One.

"But-"

Zero.

"We'll escape both or die tryin', Shads. _And now get your paws off us!" _

"Wha-_umph_!"

It was the only thing the guard leading Sonic on his left side had time to say before he was rudely booted off the wooden platform by a red sneaker. The other bear's eyes opened wide, but, to her credit, at least tried to dive forward and counter-attack – not that it did her much good against the fastest thing alive, of course. Sonic dodged the swing of her spear before diving into a hand-stand despite his still tied wrists, his legs flying through the air as he twisted and connecting squarely with the side of her head, sending her tumbling off the gallows' contraption into the mud of the courtyard like her colleague. Before Lazar below even had time to squawk, Sonic had lifted his tied hands with ease and slid them over one of his quills to let the ropes snap almost immediately. Freed, he reached back and pulled Shadow by his wrist out of his captors' grasp and onto the platform with him.

"Snuff-flick is cancelled, folks, but you're welcome to stay for our magic show 'The Great Escape'!" the blue speedster called down to the gawking audience, only letting his attention snap back to Shadow for a fraction of a second.

"You holding up?"

To his surprise, crimson eyes blazed back at him a _lot _healthier than they had been just two seconds ago.

"Yes. There's a _lot_ of Chaos energy stored inside in your body, and right now it's helping me to compensate for the shackles. Just don't let go," Shadow replied as Sonic almost casually caught a spear with his free hand that had been thrown at them by the last guard charging up the stair case now and used it to conk the unfortunate soul right into the forehead with the blunt end..

"Wouldn't dream of it." Sonic smiled...before turning it into a wicked grin. "So how about we show these guys some of our moves back when we teamed up against the brotherhood?"

An answering smirk formed on the dark Prince's muzzle.

"Excellent choice."

Shadow straightened up, raising his head high again as he indeed seemed a lot stronger than he had moments ago. Strain was still visible in his posture and the way he held himself close to Sonic to not lose the connection that apparently sustained him now, but all in all, he was once again a force to be reckoned with, and the suddenly a lot more wary glances of the guards below them showed it.

"Ready?" Shadow asked.

"_Born_ ready," Sonic answered – and then shifted his grip a bit higher on Shadow's arm, the black hedgehog grasping his arm in a lock in turn. And then what had just a second ago been two prisoners in chains suddenly became a black and blue tornado as the two heroes of Mobius executed a perfect atomic strike twister cyclone, just like they had all those months ago against a couple of _very_ unfortunate SWATbots.

"_Let's do it to it!_"

Sonic and Shadow, still holding each other's forearms in an iron grip whirled down from the stage of their execution, cutting a swathe of flying kicks, razor sharp blades and crackles of chaotic energy through the rows of castle employees and now terrified bystanders. Arrows soared from the walls of the castle court yard but were knocked aside by the force of the artificial galestorm around the spinning hedgehogs, still not slowing down.

"Guardss! Sstop them!" A voice that sounded a lot like Lazar's sounded shrilly over the cacophony of mass panic, the din of weapons and cries of pain where a 21st century foot had found a soft patch to conveniently land in. Sonic and Shadow didn't care. They were at the centre of their private merry-go-round, gazes locked as they whirled around each other, cocky and excited grin mirrored in fiercely blazing crimson eyes, both feeling giddy by this new surge of hope, both feeling exhilarated by the sensation of fighting alongside the other now.

"The castle gate! We're almost there!" Sonic called out, using his free arm to briefly point toward it in the melee, Shadow's brief nod the only confirmation he needed.

"About time. The Chaos energy in your body is almost-"

"Hold it right there or I _will_ have him killed!"

"_No, please_!"

"Wha -_Manic_!"

It was only a second. But that was all it took.

Sonic had reacted instinctively, immediately freezing as soon as he had heard the frightened voice and then saw the scared face of the green hedgehog he had spent last night talking to and who was now held in the grasp of the lizard, a heavily decorated dagger at his throat. The second of Sonic's shock brought their movement to a halt, the blue hedgehog distracted by a cry for help his dark-furred partner would have ignored, and the retribution was prompt.

"Let him GO, you-!" Sonic started to yell, but did not get very far.

"Sonic _NO_, we-_ungh_!"

"_Shadow_!" Sonic's head whipped around at the same time as his partner was torn away from him, a whip of a leopard guard having wrapped itself around his chained hands and yanked him backwards, the Ultimate Lifeform collapsing with a strangled cry as soon as his contact to Sonic was lost. The collared hedgehog was about to shout but couldn't even do that as something thick and heavy impacted on the back of his skull and everything went black for one or two of his suddenly so loud heartbeats. He fell forward onto his knees and before he could get a grip on the situation again, pain exploded in his side as a vicious kick of a steel-shod boot hit him in the side, the guards they had fought their way through now repaying him in kind. A mangled gasp escaped the blue hedgehog's lips when another savage blow of some blunt object or other landed on his head, the guards crowding around them now and beating down with all they had.

_No...no, no, no...!_

It was about all Sonic could think of in the rain of blows and lashes that let pain explode behind his eyes again and again, the helpless speedster on the ground only dimly aware that Shadow had been kicked down somewhere next to him, their escape attempt gone horribly wrong. Another kick in the ribs let Sonic almost black out for good as his body cried out for a stop of the punishment, and it sluggishly occurred to the blue hedgehog that they very well could die right here, beaten to death by the angry mob.

_Shadow..._

A gloved hand tried to reach out for his supposed Master but his fingers were nearly crushed when a boot landed on them. At last, there was another cry over the chaos and it ended the rain of abuse, although Sonic could hardly be thankful for that.

"SSSSTOP IT! THEY WILL BE EXECUTED PROPERLY!"

The hero of Mobius could barely open his eyes or raise his head. His whole body seemed to hurt and there was the metallic tang of blood in his mouth, although he wondered whether he could hear Manic yelling now, shouting apologies over and over, until a yelp shut him up.

"Get them up. Bring them back to the gallowss. And bind _that_ one with chainsss thiss time," Lazar hissed at the guards viciously as he indicated Sonic, the glare he directed at the prisoners and their abusers filled with enough venom to poison the entire court.

The next moment, Sonic refused to cry out as he was roughly yanked upward again and his arms wrested forcefully behind his back to be bound in iron this time. He wasn't surprised when he was slapped across the face as well, the bear who did it of course the same in whose face Sonic's sneaker had previously landed. The collared hedgehog's head was ringing, but at least nothing seemed to be broken, just bruised. Still, he was in no shape to fight again right now...

"Sonic..."

It was only a whisper this time, but Sonic heard it, along with Manic's horrified face as he was dragged past him, the green hedgehog aware that he had perhaps been the only reason their escape attempt had failed. Sonic tried to shoot him a '_It's not your fault'-_glance_,_ but couldn't be sure the other really had seen him as he was already pushed further away, Lazar's angry eyes glowing like yellow coals. Shadow bumped into his back as the black hedgehog had been lifted up, too, and was now shoved forward.

"Ungh!"

"Shadow!" Sonic called out under his breath, even as they were both manhandled back toward the wooden steps. "Are you okay?"

The black head was lifted with difficulty. There were three bleeding cuts of someone's claws on the dark-furred hedgehog's face and it was obvious he was in pain (which probably said a great deal about the magnitude of his injuries) but there was the scarcest of nods.

"They...didn't break anything. But..." another hiss as he was pushed forward once again, the two hedgehogs now stumbling upwards toward the pair of nooses dangling against the leaden sky.

"...this is it. With these chains there's no way I can continue fighting now."

_We have lost._

Sonic grit his teeth. Shadow was basically admitting defeat, and this time, Sonic couldn't see a thing he could do about it. His body hurt everywhere, he'd need at least ten minutes before he would be able to go again and those were ten minutes he didn't have, and if he couldn't get Shadow out of those shackles, then _everything_ was useless. When they were pulled onto the platform, he still couldn't think of anything. Emerald eyes roamed the place with increasing panic, but Shadow's quiet voice interrupted him.

"Don't. Don't give them the satisfaction." _Let us face the end with dignity._

Sonic glanced to his side, and it was only when he looked into his partner's eyes, as dark as they were utterly serious, that his reeling mind, slowly, gradually began to realize that this time, there might be no way out.

_This...this is it._

Sonic felt as if his insides were turning to stone, this one sentence sinking in with an unstoppable finality, like a lead weight descending into an unfathomable abyss underwater. The whole scene in front of him seemed to spin for a moment, to turn surreal with its edges too sharp and its noises too blurry, the jeering and shouting of the crowd below, the rough bellowing of the guards jerking them into position, the wind suddenly howling so loudly overhead under an empty sky. For a minute, Sonic's senses seemed to stretch, to strain to take everything in for one last time, every burning bruise, every smell of wood and mud and leather, every single detail on that noose being pulled down in front of him. He turned his head slightly and the spinning stopped as he saw Shadow again, the black hedgehog clear in focus, the single point that still seemed like reality to him. Despite his injuries, the Ultimate Lifeform stood tall, face and body motionless as his own rope was readied, apparently nearly aloof to it all. When their gazes connected, Sonic was finally snapped back into reality enough to pull himself together as well.

There would be no second escape attempt. The now trained bows and crossbows of the archers would make sure of that.

Sonic briefly tugged at his chained hands, but there was no way of freeing them, either. In front of him, the trapdoor was briefly tested and then shut again. It worked.

"Shadow..."

He would never see Tails again. He had danced with death for so long, and this was finally the end of his song.

By now it was a numb realization, and Sonic wondered whether that was how dying ultimately and finally felt like. Just..._numb_, as opposed to all the joy and pain, heat and danger, hope and despair life had meant for him. The hero of Mobius had always suspected he wouldn't die of old age and there had been a lot of instances when he had been a hair's width away from getting killed, been more than one time when he had closed his eyes and thought everything was over...and yet, the only thought that hurt him as if someone had already pierced his chest with a sword was the thought that Shadow would have to die along with him.

"Yes, Sonic?" Shadow's voice was quiet, but steady, unheard by their captors who now stood at the edge of the platform, reciting the various kinds of treason and other crimes they should hang for. Sonic licked his cracked lips.

"Shadow...can you survive this?"

"What?" The question sounded slightly incredulous.

"You're the Ultimate Lifeform," Sonic said, his tone now a bit more insistent. "Is your body resistant to this?" he asked, and there was just enough hope in his tone to finally tear a bit at Shadow's calm interior and let him inwardly cringe in pain. These were most likely Sonic's final moments. Should he...?

"...no." The dark hedgehog shook his head slowly, telling the other the painful truth instead of the comforting lie. He respected him this much. "If this were a death of suffocation, then yes. But if they snap my neck, I will die," he added matter-of-factly, perhaps attempting to distract himself as much as Sonic, briefly averting his eyes from his supposed slave who just had his last hopes crushed. This was Sonic for you – he would never truly give up, not really, but in an impossible situation like this it also meant that he would have his spirits crushed, mercilessly, again and again.

"Damn...I'm...I'm sorry it has to end like this for you as well." Sonic's voice was far from his usual tone, low and hoarse.

Shadow shook his head. "It's okay." His own death didn't matter to him so much. He didn't think he would survive if lost another loved one, anyway.

Or wanted to.

_Well, at least my plan held up. Sonic is resilient and excellent at survival. At least I could be sure that anyone who would have been able to take him away from me would also be strong enough to kill me, too, _flitted through the Ultimate Lifeform's head. _Perhaps I will see Maria again...even though I doubt she would ever have wanted me to die like this. _

Sonic inwardly tensed as the guard stepped up behind him, an instinctive reaction of his body that might as well have been meaningless now. Hands reached around him and laid the noose around his neck, calmly as if this was an everyday business. Sonic swallowed. The rope felt cool and smooth against his short fur, as if it was well-used and had already strangled the last breath of many victims dangling in its grasp. Next to him, Shadow was prepared likewise. Sonic managed to gather enough of himself to take a deep breath, trying to suppress the thought he very likely would not draw many more. But Shadow was right. They could still at least go out with dignity instead of tears.

"Shads?"

Sonic's voice let the black hedgehog's head turn back again from his inspection of the court. There were _still_ people filing in, more after the latest commotion, filling the yard up even now. _A real public spectacle, my life,_ a cynical voice said in his head before Sonic at his side thankfully interrupted that train of thought. Shadow looked back up at him, ignoring something he thought he had just seen in the crowd.

"Shadow," Sonic began again, and when the Ultimate Lifeform looked at him, the collared speedster even had a small smile on his face now.

One of the few things they hadn't been able to take...

"Yes? Famous last words?" Shadow asked back, voice almost resembling the dry amusement with which the black hedgehog usually would have reacted to a smile of his supposed slave.

The blue hero's lips nearly twitched at the seemingly careless quip of the other. Instead he just kept his voice steady and continued. "I just want to say..." he briefly closed his eyes as the rope was expertly tightened around his neck, but otherwise didn't let himself be disturbed in the least.

"I don't regret anything. Tails and Amy...they can look after Mobius themselves - 'specially if ol' Knucklehead is there to lend them a hand. Even if I...if I won't be there to see those two grow up." Here the blue speedster paused, and for the first time since this small return to his old character, there was again a flash of pain in his eyes, deeper than the others. He seemed to push himself to go on. "But, but maybe, if we're right and our double ended up back home, then..." he swallowed, "Tails won't ever have to find out I...died here," the blue speedster said, voice trembling only ever so little as he forced the last words out. "Just probably thinks I've gone nuts," he added with a weak laugh. A sigh escaped his lips after that and when he spoke up once more, the tension seemed to have left his body again and this time for good after he had been able to at least tell his thoughts to Shadow. And when emerald eyes re-connected with crimson ones and the small smile widened into a real one, there was for once no trace of sadness visible.

"And this trip also meant that I could get to know you. Even if it would have been nice if we had had more than just a week together."

Shadow, dazed from both the pain the chains and bruises inflicted on his body, and the pain that came from knowing that the blue hedgehog in front of him would now have to die with him, emerald eyes closed forever, at last brought himself to nod. He felt the same.

_And it really only has been a week..._

As Sonic spoke, they were forced forward to stand atop the trapdoor below which nothing but a nine feet drop into oblivion would await. Despite that, the hero of Mobius still smiled at his partner, eyes shining brighter than before, and now the Ultimate Lifeform had to fight hard, to banish the memories of his first friend, smiling at him just the same as she lay dying. The memories vanished again as he blinked, and then it was only Sonic once more, looking at him with love even as the rope hung around his neck.

"Love ya, Shads."

Shadow opened his mouth to reply, to say what were likely _really _going to be his last words, but then again, there was something...

"Sonic," he said.

"Yeah?" the blue hero asked back, seeming a bit removed from everything now. The guards were currently having a brief discussion about whether to blindfold the prisoners, but no attempts were made since their quills, dented and askew as they were, still made it impossible to bind anything across their eyes. Shadow again looked at Sonic, intense. He reached out with one banded hand, the dark rings catching the light from the pale sun that was just starting to peek .

"Sonic. Do you trust me?" he asked, voice again tense but serious.

Sonic blinked, a bit taken aback by this apparently oddly timed question, but then his reply was prompt and didn't leave the slightest space for doubt.

"Always."

Shadow reached behind Sonic to take one of the blue hero's hands in his.

"Then take a deep breath."

xxx

"Ma-master?"

Tails looked up. It was rare of Sonic that he spoke ever since he had started acting strange a week or so ago, and even rarer that he did so without being asked first.

"Master, please, tell m- tell this slave what troubles you," his big brother asked again, even if he was still ignored by the black hedgehog. Currently, both of them were inside a Chaos forcefield measuring several square metres in size and provided ample place to stand where they had put Shadow to prevent him from using any Chaos attacks, and Sonic, because everything else had proved to be...not very viable. Tails was also attempting to measure the Chaos auras and stored energy inside the two hedgehogs, the last theory he had been able to come up with that the two Chaos users had somehow either absorbed or even accidentally destroyed the missing Emerald that was now destabilizing everything. Rouge was still out there doing field work to try and find its location while Knuckles had gone back to Angel Island to try and contact Tikal inside the Master Emerald as a last hope for help. It left the young fox alone with the two strange hedgehogs inside his lab, and he constantly had to force himself to remember that they would be able to _help_ Sonic, that his big brother _would _recognize him again eventually, that...that all this would somehow have a happy end...

"Please, this slave is distraught, too. Master..." Sonic was currently kneeling on the floor again, slightly to the side and behind Shadow, who had had his arms crossed until now, but finally seemed to sigh, and absent-mindedly reached out to pet the blue hedgehog between the ears, the action appearing to Tails like one that was familiar and comforting to both of them. Sonic's tone had been downright begging, though, and it let his younger brother cringe to hear his hero speak that way. The dark-furred hedgehog let his face set into a scowl.

"I can understand you, my pet. There is a sense of foreboding. Blood will be spilled tonight, and though I cannot fathom why, it feels like death's strides may be headed for us..."

The temperature in the laboratory had not dropped a single degree, but for some reason, the Prince's words had just let the blood in Tails' veins turn freezing cold. The young fox felt as if somebody had just walked over his grave. Or something yet entirely worse...

xxx

Somewhere far away, there was a lever pulled and the heroes of Mobius fell. Sonic never found out what Shadow had thought might happen before the ground dropped away beneath him. Only fractions of a second after the executioner's command, there was the final and abrupt sound of rope being pulled taught by the weight of two bodies suspended by nothing. High above the muddy earth, blue and black legs that had moved at speeds faster than anyone on this planet could have imagined, thrashed in the air wildly one last time but ultimately went still when there was nothing to support them anymore. And two strong hands, that had held each other until the very end, finally let go.

_To be continued...?_

* * *

O HO HO HO HO HO! *cackles like Robotnik and flies away in her Eggmobile*

xxx

Weeell, I think I managed a good one there. Been working on this thing and scene for ages and it's fifteen pages long! Now you can puzzle where the fic might go after this. ;) I'm at least happy if I can still surprise after nearly fifty chappies. :P

More importantly, tho, and to cheer you up: We have new FANART! And it is A-MA-ZING. PLEASE check it out on my profile, it's a cover for the entire fanfic if it were a printed novel and I'm so happy about it.

In other news, I was attempting to write the entire beatdown and execution scene while some dimwit kept playing 'Barbie Girl' on repeat in the background. Talk about a mood sabotage attempt. Thankfully Skyblaze, as always, helped enormously with dialogue afterwards. :P

Please read and review! I*know* I've been away really for_ever _this time, but I hope you are still reading despite a terrible author. :P


	47. This Is What It's Like To Be Free

**Chapter 46: Waking Up, Breaking Out – This Is What It Means To Be Free**

_Just sounds of distant roar behind you..._

"_No_!"

It was a single cry from Manic and it broke off abruptly when the purple lizard holding him yanked his leash harshly enough to nearly let him choke.

"Ssshut up. I hope you've ssseen what happenss to traitorss and sslave vermin who think of rebelling now," the reptile hissed at him, even if the despairing green hedgehog probably couldn't even hear him now. The court was filled with people cheering and jeering, a few of them also being sick, or looking equally distressed as the collared hedgehog – perhaps former friends of the ex-Prince.

Lazar noted their faces especially.

"Sonic..." Manic whispered, still remembering how the strange slave of the Prince had spoken to him only moments ago it seemed, but now would be silenced forever, along with all of his odd ideas and his infectious smile.

The blue hedgehog looked oddly peaceful now, hanging silently below the gallows and turning gently in the breeze. It was the first time Manic had seen him like that, bright emerald closed now and closed forever, and while the first tears were already stinging in his eyes he also wondered whether that perhaps could mean that at least the other was at peace now, having died next to his Master he loved so much. The blue lithe body was relaxed at last, for once all fight and angry pride gone from those muscles, hands that had held his owner's until the very end still loosely tied behind his back. Manic, who knew Sonic had hated restraints like no other, briefly wished they would at least take the chains off when they'd dispose of the body, and for some reason that thought hurt all the more.

"Alright. Sssend a runner to Hiss Majessty to inform him I have carried out hiss verdict," Lazar announced smugly to one of the guards, who nodded. "And while you're at it, assk of Lo-_Prince_ Sscourge whether we might sequesster hiss pet for the time of hisss abssence or put him to work sssomewhere. If he isss of any usse."

Manic wasn't even listening. It had been more than ten minutes that the trapdoor had opened beneath Sonic and right now he cared very little for what was going to happen to him.

His Master had told him once off-handedly that there was no place for slaves to go to after they had died in their service. It had hurt Manic then, but he had accepted it. Now he wondered, briefly, if Sonic would have backed down, too. Or if he would have be as unafraid in the afterlife as he had been in this world and would rail against the gates of the Paradise supposedly reserved for those who had been free people until they let him in.

The green hedgehog was stumbling along now, his collar harshly yanked by the lizard pulling him along, the dangling corpses vanishing from his view as he was led back into the Palace again. But still, even in his pain, there was the smallest of wistful smiles on his face, almost mirroring the one of the blue-furred slave of the Prince moments before his death.

_Perhaps you have now finally found your freedom, Sonic..._

xxx

Amboss sighed and nodded in satisfaction at a job that was routine but still well done, the bulldog executioner a small island of peace amid the chattering, shrieking, sobbing and laughing of the crowd below the gallows. The guards were still busy holding throngs back that wanted to get at the corpses, either to cut off a bushel of fur for good luck and as a morbid souvenir or simply to get a closer look at their former crown prince who had now become a piece of macabre curiosity. Of course, Amboss would be having none of that. He had respected the Prince in his life, and even if he had been forced to execute him like a common prisoner next to a slave, he would make sure at least the body could be burned properly. The cream-coloured canine in the dark brown tunic descended the wooden stairs and with a grunt brought the large, straw-filled wheelbarrow in position underneath the bodies. Only now he noticed what strange footwear those two had been wearing, and he idly wondered whether he might be able to sell it for a decent price afterwards. The coat of the slave perhaps as well, such a bright azure fur could surely be made into a pretty pair of ear muffs or a stole. He'd have to see the peltmonger about that...

Muttering these businessplans underneath his breath, Amboss ascended the wooden stairs again, this time taking out a knife from his belt with which he then deftly and expertly cut the rope still dangling. Below, the bodies fell toward the earth into the cart, a dull thud resounding upon their impact, their forms crumpled against the straw, the fallen Prince's broken neck lolling over the edge of the wheelbarrow.

The dog dungeonmaster looked down at the scene through the trapdoor once more with another melancholy sigh, then abruptly turned around to pull the lever and shut the hatch again. When he took off the nooses, he could keep the Prince's as a memento, he thought as he walked down for the final time for today, planning to first wheel the corpses away to the dungeon entrance where he could try to get out of them what he could, before burning the black hedgehog's body and maybe pawn off the hide and meat of the slave for the tannery and animal food market, respectively. Waste not, want not, after all.

Amboss serenely sheathed his dagger again as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, his boots sinking into the mud of the courtyard that was also still caking the corpses. He dusted off his leather-gloved hands briefly before preparing to grab the handlebars of the cart, ignoring the hooting, hollering and pleading of friends, enemies and simple low-lives trying to make a few easy coins demanding a chance to have a look (and possibly a grab) at the bodies. The bull dog gave a last, cursory glance at his freight to see whether nothing was sticking out too much so one of them could slide off...and then frowned. For some reason, he seemed to remember that the peach-furred arm of the collared hedgehog who had landed on top of the Prince had been lying across the black hedgehog's face, yet now it was placed beside it. A dark-brown furry eye brow rose in the cream face as he seemed to notice other strange things. The Prince had landed on his back, but even though his head had to have landed on the wooden railing of the cart, Amboss hadn't heard the crack that that should have produced. His slave had landed on his side half on top of him, lying with the side of his face on the chest of his dead Master, but just as the chains supposedly binding his wrists together seemed to oddly have come undone in the fall, his quills were apparently carefully arranged just so they hadn't pierced the dark-furred hedgehog in his fall. The picture of the two bodies in fact looked strangely peaceful, just as if they were only sleeping...

Amboss' dark grey eyes narrowed as he bent forward, intrigued despite having seen death many times up close before. His face neared that of the blue hedgehog, his hands gripping the rails of the cart tightly. No, everything seemed to be alright...

...wait. Had the chest of the slave just _moved_?

And then emerald eyes abruptly opened only inches from the dog's visage.

"_Boo_," Sonic said.

The scream of the dungeon master was heard across the entire courtyard.

xxx

Sonic had felt the trapdoor opening beneath him just after Shadow had said his last words, and liquid ice seemed to fill his veins as the ground dropped away underneath his feet. A last, nonsensical thought raced through his head, _why does Shadow want me to hold my breath of all things, hanging kills you because your own weight snaps your neck, _but a simple habit he had developed over the last week had let him obey anyway, even as he dropped like an anvil.

The last moment of the fastest thing alive...

...until his fall was abruptly stopped short and Sonic's eyes closed as he was expecting the noose around his neck to pull tight right _now_ and finish what Robotnik had attempted all these years in vain.

Except it didn't.

Sonic's legs were flailing wildly for a second in the air until he realized that he hadn't been stopped by the noose, but had actually been caught beneath his armpits and waist by a feeling that had NEVER been a good thing before but couldn't have been more welcome now.

The blue hedgehog would have nearly gasped, but stopped himself at the last moment, forcing his eyes to stay shut as well. His legs stopped flailing, too, and he could feel Shadow's hand forcibly disentangle itself from his own, at once realizing that the hedgehog most important to him had to have been caught as well, and was on the same track as Sonic - indeed had to have _known_ or at least suspected about this. The blue hedgehog let his fingers go limp as well, losing contact with Shadow, only seeing the black hedgehog suspended in air next to him through a slit in his eyelids he squinted through. And yes...

It was only faintly visible, only there when you knew where to look, and what for.

Sonic was nearly unable to hide a grin at the softly shimmering glow underneath Shadow's arms and around his waist that he now suspected suspended himself as well.

Silver, somewhere in the crowd, had come to the rescue.

Sonic carefully kept limp, knowing that playing dead never been more important than now.

His feet still dangled disconcertingly above ground, the rope on his neck tight enough to fool anyone at first glance, and already exerting enough pressure to make breathing uncomfortable, but fortunately not impossible. Silver had let them drop just enough to make it look like they were really suspended by their necks, even turning them slightly to make it look more realistic. The noise of the crowd was deafening, but still a little _click_ closeby almost let Sonic's ear flick. They were a bit out of the view of people now, hanging directly underneath the platform, but both hedgehogs still tried to let their ears and quills droop convincingly, just in case anyone wanted to take a closer look.

Sonic tensed up a bit as he could suddenly feel something moving around his hands and realized with surprise and even a bit of awe, that this was very probably Silver trying to use his powers to loosen the chains that bound his wrists. The blue speedster couldn't even see the psychic hedgehog but suspected him to be somewhere in the throng of people in front of the gallows, perhaps even one of the last visitors to arrive. He tried to sneak another glance at Shadow and could also see some minuscule movement and clicking of _his_ black bands, suggesting that Silver was concentrating on those, too. As far as Sonic could remember, Silver of their home dimension had not yet used his powers this finely tuned and in so many places at once, and a treacherous voice suggested that this was perhaps because _this _Silver already had had a lot of training with..._delicate_ telekinetic tasks. Again, Sonic had to fight a bit for a blush not to show up on his face, and forced himself to stay relaxed even if he couldn't help the slight feeling of dread as he had to avoid thinking about what would happen if Silver's concentration on so many things at the same time let him slip up and perhaps drop them. There was still the smooth, tight rope around his neck and sneakered feet even now dangled precariously in the air, supported by nothing. If Silver didn't hold him up every single second, he could still die...

More than five minutes that seemed like an eternity to Sonic had already passed and the collared hero had had to start breathing again, trying to keep it as flat as possible while above and below him, people were still talking and shouting. His heart meanwhile was racing in his chest way too loudly, and while a part of Sonic savoured each beat because only moments ago he had thought it would soon stop forever, now he was also dreading to be discovered. Below him, something large was manoeuvred through the mud, but the blue-furred hedgehog couldn't see what it was because fear to be exposed had him close his eyes shut, still pretending to have died in the grasp of the noose.

_Please don't notice anything...please don't notice anything..._

Of course, Sonic was familiar with the feeling, how trying to stay still and undiscovered was indescribably more nerve-fraying than the desperate and daredevil stunts he pulled when on the run and cornered, but that didn't mean he _liked _it_. _

The rope around his neck was too tight for comfort...

A sigh of relief nearly escaped his lips as the steps of the canine ascended the wooden stairs again. The mayhem in the courtyard was still way too loud but fortunately at least masked all those little sounds their living bodies and their chains were making.

Up ahead, the steps paused. Sonic briefly wondered what was going to happen now, whether they would have to hang here until the evening, or what on Mobius they would do if any scavenger birds tried to show up, but then all of that was nearly immediately solved. The hero of Mobius almost screamed when suddenly Shadow, and two seconds later he himself dropped abruptly downwards.

_Silver!_

Sonic's mouth opened to a choked cry, but fortunately his rationale kicked in just in time and he realized he was _falling_, not hanging. There was an ungraceful landing on what turned out to be straw and a black hedgehog gasping ever so little when Sonic's elbow buried itself in the side of his face, but neither of them made a sound as they continued to lay still like ragdolls where they had fallen, Sonic's ear pressed to Shadow's chest where each moment, he could hear the other's slow, re-assuring heartbeat, his own so close to the other's body, too.

_We...we have made it, Shads. We are alive. _

Sonic for the first time felt an incredible surge of hope and optimism race through his body, but refused to become careless because of this. His shackles seemed to have come undone, though, and if the same went for Shadow's...

Amboss was returning now, obviously about to cart them off to Chaos knew where. Sonic was fine with that. But then, just after the dog had seized the cart, there suddenly was a pause again, and a curious humming. The blue hero's heart beat faster. Was he on to them already? Sonic still couldn't open his eyes and see, but his ears told him the canine was bending closer now. He already imagined he could feel the other's body heat on his mud-caked fur.

And then there was just the faintest smell of the other's breath on his face.

_Oh, well. Let's just hope Shads is ready for this, then. _

Sonic opened his eyes and gave the bull dog staring at him from inches apart his widest and brightest grin.

"Boo."

_Even years later_, Sonic thought a second later, _I don't think I will __ever__ forget that guy's face. _

xxx

High above a planet that threatened to have his Chaos field collapse Knuckles floated, Angel Island a single spot of serenity still controlled by the Master Emerald. But for how much longer...?

The Guardian and last of the echidnas was sitting before the shrine now, a low murmuring under his breath an ancient chant meant to bring harmony to both the gem stone and its keeper, to forge a bond between them in times of need.

"_...enriched by the heart. The controller serves to..."_

"Hello, Knuckles."

It spoke volumes that there wasn't even the slightest twitch of anger on the echidna's face.

"Hello, Rouge," he said instead, not getting up from his sitting position in front of the altar. "Shouldn't you be looking for the seventh Chaos Emerald down on the surface?"

"I tried," the bat replied, sinking down next to him. "I tried everywhere. Nothing. All the Chaos readings I get are from your place here, because it overshadows any Chaos Emerald anyway."

Her words sounded as tired as she looked, and indeed there seemed to be little fight or energy left in either of the two Mobians now slumped in front of the shrine. The days of fear and worry, sleepless nights spent searching, debating, fretting over their friends' mental state and combing the world for that seventh, crystal-clear Emerald had taken their toll on both of them, leaving them mentally, physically and even emotionally exhausted.

"This is one of our last chances," Knuckles said, voice gritty. "I don't wake up Tikal often. The Guardian of the Master Emerald is supposed to be able to deal with Chaos problems alone – otherwise all his ancestors will know he just wasn't _good_ enough," he explained, quietly. "But this is too big – this is the fate of everyone of the planet at stake and dammit, it should really be Sonic who deals with this sort of stuff," he grunted. "But when he is out, I suppose we have to step in..."

"...can I stay?" Rouge asked softly, and, after a side-glance at her, Knuckles nodded.

"Sure. You just have to be silent and let me concentrate and then maybe..."

He resumed the chant. _"Power is enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the chaos..."_

Rouge's eyes widened as the Emerald glowed in a way she had never seen before. Knuckles murmured to it, and although his voice was nearly too low to be understandable, somehow she could make out the words...

"Tikal. Help us. There is an imbalance in the Chaos and we need you to show us where the seventh Emerald has gone."

_That is...difficult at the moment..._

It was a voice that simply bypassed the ears when it spoke, and every syllable sounded how light breaking in a prism would.

"Please, Tikal. Do your best. Even an approximation would help."

_I...will try. But both exact time and place might be impossible..._

The light inside the Emerald began to move, to burst apart and to collect again, drawing into shapes and images. Rouge watched with wide eyes, never having seen the like before. Finally, something like a picture began to form and both Sapients stared in fascination, trying to make out the details...of a throne room.

"What...?" Rouge mouthed. They were watching from a bird's perspective, somewhere high in the rafters of the place. People were milling about, but none of them clear in focus and all giving off the vibe of a very strange sort of costume ball going on. The picture kept shifting, distorting and jumping, seeming to bounce in position as well as in time. Finally, it appeared to be trying to hone in on something going on to one end of the hall, a sort of stage...

"There!" Rouge suddenly called out as a greenish blob had just appeared, followed by a bigger black blob, but the most important thing was that she thought she had seen a glint that unmistakeably had been an Emerald. "Did you see that?" she turned to Knuckles excitedly, her finger pressing against the green glass of the Master, but then the picture was already zooming in on something else, in stunning HD...

It was sometime later that Rouge had to call Tails from Angel Island, telling the distraught fox that unfortunately even the Master Emerald would show nothing but Sonic breakdancing for some reason and the resident Guardian was sadly having a quiet breakdown.

xxx

"Alright, Shadow,_ let's show them what we're made of_!" Sonic half a day into the future yelled, leaping to his feet on top of the cart as his executioner stumbled backward, blubbering in astonishment, right before the steel chains thrown by the freed hero's hands landed straight in his face.

"You couldn't have waited even one more moment?" a somewhat grouchier voice growled up from the straw as Shadow picked himself up, shaking hay out of his quills. Sonic flashed him a somewhat worried glance.

"Why, are you still down for the count?"

The Ultimate Lifeform raised an eyeridge, and then briefly displayed opened wristbands now dangling loosely from his arms.

"You mean because of...these?" his supposed Master asked, sliding them off effortlessly and then crushing them with the fingers of one hand. His other curled, and when he opened it again, there were the familiar emerald flames crackling on his palm. They reflected in his crimson eyes like wildfire as the dark Prince grinned.

"_No_."

"Hey! They, they're moving!" There was a scream from the crowd, answered by gasps and shrieks as the courtyard gradually became aware that their two executed prisoners were still alive and, as it were, kicking.

"Yeah, you better run!" Sonic shouted, leaping from the cart, grinning as the majority of the panicking audience was trying to push backwards, get away from the two demons that not even the gallows could stop. The blue hero knew he was likely to have to do most of the running, distraction and footwork, because the black hedgehog mostly had only partially recovered - he was running purely on relief and adrenaline, fury and fierce joy at finally being able to show his true powers, much like Sonic, but they were still both pretty banged up and far from their best, especially Shadow who had barely eaten anything and slept less. But this was still more than enough for simple castle guards, right...?

"_Sonic_!" Shadow yelled at this point, because not _all _of the people had been shocked and especially not the soldiers high on the walls, and now there was an arrow suddenly flying straight at an unaware hero's head. The Ultimate Lifeform rushed forward, aware that he would be too late to protect his supposed pet, seeing Sonic turn, but not quickly enough, the blue hero's green eyes widening as he saw the projectile but with not enough time for his body left to dodge...

And then the arrow was caught in mid-air, not inches from Sonic's face, its wooden shaft now gleaming blue.

"It's him! He's doing it!" The captain of the guards, an elderly cougar, cried, pointing at a figure that had previously been concealed within a the crowd. It was an inconspicious bystander at first glance, wearing a dark brown robe concealing his face and large head, but now, everybody was looking and _everybody_ could see the light blue glow around his hands. The standard procedure took only fractions of a second to kick in.

"KILL THE WITCH!"

"I am _male, _you idi_-o_h, shoot," Silver gasped, having just whisked his hood off his head while letting the arrow still in front of Sonic's face drop to the floor, and then of course was instantly surrounded by fierce-looking soldiers, the hero of Mobius painfully aware that yes, this Silver employed the exact same mixture of telekinetic prowess, righteous bravery, desire to help, and, sadly, complete and utter naivety that also characterized his own Silver at home. Sonic leaped to the rescue in a second, just managing to knock the first sword out of the way that otherwise would have found home in the surprised young hedgehog's heart.

"Thanks for saving us!" Sonic called out, not stopping but whirling right on to the next combatant, the chaos and fighting breaking out anew after only a second's peace. People were screaming, now doubly afraid of not only two walking corpses but also a witch of indeterminate gender. Guards running around with pointy things were not _really_ helpful in calming down a panicking crowd at the best of times, soldiers kept falling over each other as they tried to reach either Sonic and Silver or Shadow, and the hero of Mobius privately thought that not even a wrecking ball crashing through the wall of an agoraphobics convention could have caused a greater commotion.

"I- I came back!" Silver called out, the young telekinetic now frantically trying to explain himself, Sonic barely managing to keep all the sharp implements away from them while Silver had to use his entire concentration to stop all the arrows and bolts being shot their way, the hedgehogs fighting back to back. "I – Lady Rouge passed me and stopped me, she caught up with my coach, she told me what happened at the castle-" Silver babbled, clearly a bit overwhelmed with the current situation, "I couldn't let you die, not _again_, I took the fastest horse I could and turned around-!"

"STOP FIGHTING!"

The voice was loud, and it was booming, and it was one that not only Sonic had been trained to obey. For one moment, heads turned and beheld Shadow, perched atop the wagon that had been wheeled beneath the gallows, and his eyes were burning like fire.

"You will cease attacking us at once. We will take the Emerald and we will leave the castle," Shadow said, and it sounded like a certainty. The captain of the guards rallied first.

"You are no longer the Prince. You are a convicted prisoner and in no position to give orders," she said. "Sir Lazar will be informed of this and you will hang. Again."

"I wouldn't do that in your position. Informing anyone," Shadow said, and now his voice was calm, but it was the calm before the last storm.

"Or what?" the cat asked, golden eyes narrowing.

"Or," Shadow replied, and suddenly his features lit up with a grin that was both gleeful and wicked and absolutely terrifying on his face. "_That." _

And then you couldn't hear his two words after, but Sonic knew what they must have been, because the next thing that happened was the gallows exploding over him like a supernova amid a deadly bloom of Chaos.

xxx

"What – what was that?" Silver whispered, astonished. Around them, bits of burned wood, mud and unconscious bodies were raining to the floor, and the crowd had turned into a stampede now, surging out of the gate and exits like mad feral horses, Sonic only hoping nobody was trampled to death in the process. For Silver, the only point of serenity in the turbulence was the slave of the Prince, severed rope still dangling from his neck, standing calmly and watching his Master.

"Shads' own brand of Chaos magic," the blue hedgehog replied calmly to the other's question, absent-mindedly stepping aside to avoid being hit by a wayward piece of debris. Shadow was stepping toward them now, the panicked Sapients parting like feral cats in front of a waterhose-wielder, and Sonic noted that his supposed owner was wearing a thoroughly satisfied expression.

"Well," Shadow said, flexing mud-caked fingers and brushing a bit of dirt off his shoulder as if in passing. "Let's pay a visit to Black Doom, shall we?"

"I – you – it _exploded_ -" Silver stammered, but Shadow silenced him.

"Yes, And so will anyone else if they try to lay a hand on us again."

"That means 'Thank you for saving our necks, Silver'," Sonic translated dutifully, cheerfully removing his own rope still dangling from his neck. His fingers brushed over the collar still securely closed, but, he decided, this could wait till later.

"Yes," Shadow nodded. "But now we will have to move quickly. If Black Doom is still in the castle we don't have long to get the surprise drop on him."

"True," Sonic agreed. Then he turned to Silver. "Right. Lemme just say, what you just did was amazing. But now you might have to do a bit more. You okay with that?"

"Yes," Silver nodded, amber eyes glinting with the same resolution Sonic had already seen, in a place far away, in a time far removed. "I think...this could be the, the change this country needs."

"Awesome," Sonic grinned. "Okay, here's what you need to do. Me and Shads will attract the attention of anyone fond to wave spears into other people's faces. _You _have to go down into the dungeon." The blue hedgehog shot his supposed Master a glance, as if to see whether any objections were coming forth. "When you're down there, you should be able to find a cell with four, possibly five trapped guys, one of them's a large crocodile. Get them out. I dunno quite why exactly they're here, but they're good guys and I know they'll be able to cause a whole second load of trouble for horned and crazy on the throne."

"Got it," Silver nodded, adding, "Seeing as I'll probably be out of a job and hunted down as a freak anyway, might as well go down with flying colours, right?"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Shadow said, stepping in. "Once this whole mess is sorted out, I hear Queen Blaze's Kingdom is quite pleasant, this time of year," the Ultimate Lifeform stated, remembering that Black Doom had said something to the effect of the purple cat reigning somewhere in the neighbouring countries. The telekinetic blinked at him slightly taken aback.

"Right..."

"Great Idea. Okay, Silver, listen, I'm sorry we don't have any more time to catch up or explain stuff, but we really need to get going before they rally," Sonic spoke up again and the silver-furred hedgehog straightened up, trying to show he understood the situation. Sonic pursed his lips.

"Just one more question, actually..."

"Yes?"

"That was a plenty dangerous stunt you just pulled there with us dangling. What would you have done if we hadn't realized what you were doing and panicked?" Sonic asked, raising an eye ridge.

Silver blinked for a moment. Gears in his head seemed to turn, and then he replied: "Well, I probably just hoped you would..._hang in there_," he said, and immediately began to laugh.

Sonic and Shadow shared a look. The blue hedgehog shrugged.

"Hey, he's from the middle ages. It's probably the first time anyone's cracked that joke in history."

"Right," Shadow replied dryly in a resigned tone that indicated its owner had understood that not even certain death ten minutes ago could cause Sonic to stop his joking for two seconds. Their conversation had lasted barely moments, a few short seconds stolen from the madness surrounding them and now it was time to return them with interest. Sonic shot a quick, somewhat worried glance at his supposed owner, not having forgotten how exhausted the week and the beatdown just now had left them both, but for now the Ultimate Lifeform seemed to be holding up, even if fueled more by vengeance and determination than sleep or food. He took Shadow's hand, the blissful feeling of still being able to do that with both of them so incredibly, wonderfully _alive_ right next to each other giving the blue hero another burst of energy. Shadow seemed to feel this, too, and turned to Sonic, a confident smirk upon his face.

"Ready to go to war?" he asked the blue hero.

Sonic grinned. "Ready to lead the _revolution_!"

xxx

"Okay. Let's be off," Shadow said, and Sonic nodded, the pair taking off after only a curt nod of goodbye to Silver. Shadow took the lead, skating through the courtyard as the first few soldiers had already overcome their shock and now tried to follow them again, a few remaining archers on the walls vainly trying to get a clear view of their zig-zagging targets.

"Where are we going?" Sonic asked. "Shouldn't we make a break for it?"

"Black Doom or the Emerald might still be here, even if he didn't attend our 'execution'," Shadow explained, dodging neatly around a well in their way, "So yes, the idea is to get out of the castle, but not before we haven't ascertained whether the Emerald has truly been taken."

"So," Sonic asked, "The throne room?"

"The throne room," Shadow confirmed, all at once stopping before a high wall after they'd turned a corner of the castle in the inner yard surrounding the entire structure. The mayhem wasn't far behind. "If I remember the layout correctly, the it's just up there," he pointed to a window high above, before grabbing Sonic's hand. "Run up."

"Right," the hero of Mobius didn't even question the order, especially as their pursuers were about to catch up with them. Mobilizing his last reserves, he grasped Shadow's wrist tightly, took a deep breath and then shot straight up the opposite wall surrounding the courtyard, rubber-soled sneakers finding purchase where hover skates could never have. He was already half-way up, the first of the soldiers turning the corner open-mouthed as they beheld the spectacle, as it occurred to Sonic that there might only have been a single flaw in the plan.

"Oy, Shadow!" he called out, "If Black Doom paralysed us once with his gas in an enclosed room he can do it again! How do we-?" His question was cut off when they both landed on top of the castle wall, the window of the throne room now just an easy two metre leap away from them. Shadow dropped down behind Sonic, then straightened up, and Sonic could once again see the red lightning collecting in his hand. It illuminated the features of the Ultimate Lifeform in a way that would have sent anyone up against him running at this point.

"Easy," Shadow almost purred. "The throne room is not going to be _'enclosed'_ much longer."

He took a deep breath. Sonic stepped inconspiciously behind him.

"CHAOS BLAST!"

And two seconds later even the bravest guards, who had tried not to be scared out of their minds when the gallows went up to heaven, were not able to do anything but turn tail and run as an explosion worthy of the fury of a god of lightning tore a gaping hole right into their castle wall.

Sonic and Shadow leapt into the still clearing smoke.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Hi there! Wow, it has been a long time, hasn't it? Unfortunately, there was a death in the family over here and, yeah...kind of made writing difficult for a while. Yet while people inevitably have to die in real life, they never have to in a story...hope you enjoyed these two defying death once more. Of course, Silver had been calculated from the very first second - I had never planned for the story to finish like this, that would have been a major bummer. Kind of not what I want to read in fiction. So, meanwhile, hope you like and read and review.

A whole lot of you also asked why Sonic didn't turn into Dark Super Sonic, or sth similar. Answer is mostly 1) because that's Sonic X continuity and I write video games and 2) I really, _really _wanted to write a hanging scene. That is all. :P

Also, if any of you happen to attend _Summer of Sonic _this weekend, feel free to say hello - just look out for Tails in the company of (Sky)Blaze and Shadow (or should I say Sir Percival and Sir Lancelot? ;) ) I got to meet a couple of you last year and it was great! :D _  
_


	48. Black & Blue On The Run

**Chapter 48: Running Wild **

There was a soft thud as two pairs of feet landed next to each other on a ruined castle carpet, the hedgehogs they belonged to straightening up as gracefully as a pair of cats out for the kill. One of them was wearing a collar that declared him the property of the other, but one could never have told from their stances; both Sapients stood upright and side by side, their movements so in synch with each other that they looked more like seasoned battle partners than anything else. Now emerald and crimson eyes were narrowed, the heroes of Mobius trying to recognize any shapes in the throne room they had just blasted into, ears twitching for any sounds and senses strained for the faintest traces of Chaos Energy, muscles tensed to evade any possible attack of Black Doom or others. The smoke was clearing...

And then it parted to reveal what was probably the most terrified lizard in the kingdom's history right atop the throne.

Sonic and Shadow paused. Then Sonic put a hand on his hip.

"What? You _again_?"

Shadow was pretty sure you could have heard Lazar's scream three neighbouring countries over.

xxx

"_Sonic_!"

Manic's eyes were wide with complete and utter incredulity, but at the same time also held a hope that the younger hedgehog almost didn't seem to dare to believe in. The green hedgehog jumped up, attempting to run towards them but only succeeded in nearly choking himself and falling back to the ground, his collar digging into his neck cruelly where he had been tied to the throne's foot.

"What did you – HOW did you-_?_!" the purple lizard stammered incoherently, scrabbling back on the too-large king's seat until he was apparently attempting to dig through the black wood of the backrest with his shoulder blades. His yellow eyes were darting like two panicking rabbits from the two hedgehogs to the giant hole in the wall they had leapt through, his mind unable to compute either of the two sights. Shadow stepped forward.

"Enough of this. I want Black Doom and I want the Emerald. Where are they?"

Lazar's mouth only opened and closed like a goldfish's who had been asked to explain the dynamics of a zeppelin. One of his hands, perhaps only coincidentally, drifted a little bit closer to the dagger that still hung on his belt, which Sonic took as a cue to step ever so subtly forwards as well.

"You touch that knife or raise a single claw to harm Manic again, and I'm going to slice you in half," the hero of Mobius said, and his voice was so quiet and his tone so calm, Shadow believed every word. When they had been dragged past Manic after getting re-captured again, the younger slave had looked _devastated..._

"Hey, Manic. It's okay, we're here to get you," Sonic addressed his green-furred classmate again, this time a smile on his face. With another warning glare directed at Lazar, he strode forward, Manic's chestnut eyes still staring in wonder. Shadow crossed his arms.

"While _you_ have about three seconds to tell me where the King is. I'm not asking a third time."

"He'sss – he'ss gone-"

"WHAT_?_!"

Lazar flinched at Shadow's bark, even when the black hedgehog was already baring his teeth again. There was a very unsettling way in which the former Prince's eye was now _twitching..._

"_Tell me you're lying_," the dark hedgehog growled menacingly, Chaos fire already crackling in his hand again, but inside, the Ultimate Lifeform could already feel a suspicion becoming a gloomy certainty. Black Doom hadn't been absent from his own son's execution because he wanted to let him feel his disdain. Black Doom had already begun the war...

"I – I sspeak the truth! Your father hass already gone to the battlefield! He'ss taken Lord Sscourge and the gem ssstone with him!" the purple lizard squeaked, eyes now transfixed on the flames of Chaos in Shadow's hand. Reptiles couldn't sweat, but Sonic privately thought Lazar was having a damn good try.

Shadow's eyes narrowed. He couldn't sense the Chaos Emerald around, either. And now, judging by the growing noises in the distance it seemed as if the first guards were managing to reach the throne room in a more conventional way than he and Sonic had used...

"Impossible...you really are _alive_..." Manic was breathing beside the throne, Sonic just having managed to use his own quills to slice through the other's leash and help him up again. The blue hedgehog winked.

"What can I say? I die hard. C'mon, let's get you outta here!"

"You - you will never get away with thiss!" Lazar on the throne seemed to try and rally now, especially as reinforcements were on their way and Sonic had turned his back to him again. "Even you can't prevail againssst all the remaining forcess in thiss casstle! You sshall not esscape! I will ssee to it that you die...becausse I know your _weaknessss_!" Lazar shouted – and then let one of his arms lash out and grab a yelping Sonic forcefully enough that the hedgehog stumbled backwards, right into his arms.

"Again, your care for otherss will be your undoing!" the purple lizard hissed, using one hand to keep Sonic captive by his collar, the other one to steady his knife at the hedgehog's throat, "Jussst like at your execution, if you don't sssurrender, I will – hey, are you _lisstening_?" the malevolent, viciously triumphant leer on Lazar's face had started to turn into a strangely confused frown as the only reaction to his taking the Prince's slave hostage was a raised eye ridge and then the black hedgehog actually waving him off and turning around, appearing more interested in the noises indicating the nearing soldiers.

"_Sonic_!"

In fact, the only one appearing distressed at all was Lord Scourge's pet; Lazar's eyes darted to his side and saw that even Sonic's expression resembled more a disapproving nursery school teacher who had _told _little Lazar not to play with sharp objects. The blue hedgehog who was supposed to be terrified in his grip was actually quite relaxed with the blade against his throat, arms crossed and one foot tapping impatiently.

"Well, Shads? Ain't you gonna try and save me?"

"Will you quit fooling around, Sonic? The Emerald isn't in this castle, so we need to get going," Shadow answered, leaning with one hand against the wall, regarding the entire display like a theatre critic forced to watch a grade school nativity play.

"Sonic, I am so _sorry-" _Manic, still on the floor, reached out for the captive hedgehog, but Sonic held up a hand.

"Heh, no worries, Manic. Just back up there for a minute – did you know up close this guy's breath really _reeks_?" he asked, drawing a grimace to illustrate. Beside him, Lazar seemed to be turning a deeper shade of purple.

"_You will take me seriously, or else-!"_

And that, turned out, had been a mistake. Sonic's head turned, ever so slowly, the knife sliding over his neck like a caress. When the hedgehog in Lazar's grip was face to face with his captor, emerald eyes had darkened without a single trace of humour left in them.

"So you want to be taken seriously by me?" Sonic asked. "Then let me show you what I do with those I consider _serious_ enemies..."

The attack came so fast, Lazar didn't even feel the pain until his ribs broke.

Manic's mouth stood open. Even Shadow raised an eye ridge. Sonic's elbow had lashed backwards, burying itself deep in the gasping reptile's abdomen. As Lazar was about to bend double, the hero of Mobius threw his head backwards, a hedgehog's defense that meant tips as sharp as razor blades were forced into the lizard's face and torso, the other finally letting go of Sonic's collar with a scream; the next sound was that of a heel connecting with Lazar's side as the fastest thing alive whirled around with a perfectly executed spinning kick, the scaled sapient getting slammed into the side of the throne with the force of a sledgehammer. He would have collapsed then and there, but a gloved hand shot out with lightning speed before he could even hit the ground and grabbed him by the lapel of his tiny jacket, burning emerald eyes suddenly only inches from his own.

"You tried to kill me. I can live with that," Sonic said, hedgehog teeth gleaming in the lizard's face whose hand let the suddenly so useless knife finally fall to the floor in terror, "You tried to torture me. There were others who tried before you," the hero of Mobius stated, breathing hard and Shadow for a moment thought that deep down, this was the _other_ side of Sonic the Hedgehog, was as much part of him as his goodwill and eternal cheer – burning, righteous _fury_ when somebody violated the laws of what it meant to be sapient. As rarely as it was seen, Shadow could feel that this was the fire that kept Sonic going, made his spirit indomitable...and right now meant so much trouble for Lazar.

"But _you_ did something worse," the blue hedgehog continued at this point, voice hissing into reptile ears that were no more than holes. "_You _thought, just because they weren't free like you, that it was okay to consider enslaved people's lives _worthless." _

The lizard gave an incoherent whimper at this point. Sonic leaned in even closer, their faces actually touching now.

"Mistreat another living being again, we will find you. Make somebody your slave once more, we will come for you. You wanna know whose life is _really_ worthless here?" he asked, and the growl in his voice now was that of the werehog, something ancient and furious, a threat that made every cell in your body scream to get out of there, hide and run. Lazar appeared barely able to focus now, yellow eyes wide and torpid. Sonic gave him a grin from a nightmare.

"_Not even yours." _

Lazar fainted.

xxx

"Finished?" Shadow asked as Sonic finally let go of the lizard, the reptile crumpling to the floor like a particularly ugly ragdoll, and the hero of Mobius was turning around as casually as if he had just dusted off the throne. Manic, still sitting on the floor stared at the blue speedster like Sonic had just produced an elephant from his shoe, and Shadow was privately already dreading of having to lug around another kid star-struck by Sonic The Show-off. Now his supposed slave dusted off his hands.

"Eh, pretty much. So, we're gonna leave the castle for good, then? What's the ETA of the idiot brigade?" Sonic asked, his head nodding into the direction of the throne room doors.

"About thirty seconds, thanks to your dramatics," Shadow replied in a dead-pan. "By which time I wish to have left."

"Can do, Stripes," Sonic grinned, ignoring Shadow's raised eye ridge at the novel nickname, before reaching down to Manic and helping him to his feet again. "Hey. One question. Can I have all all those buckles and belts that creep Scourge put on ya?" he asked, indicating the outfit from the ball minus the feathers that still bound the green hedgehog uncomfortably tight.

Manic nodded hesitantly. "Uh...yes, if you want to..."

"Great!" There was a whirlwind rush, and the leather straps were gone; another whirlwind rush and Sonic had already scooped up the younger hedgehog, a black and a blue blur leaping out of the hole in the castle wall and landing in the courtyard again with practiced grace. The entire castle had now turned into a cauldron of chaos, people running about screaming how the undead were walking the earth and witches invading the castle, guards yelling about a prison breach from below and a ninja attack from above, there were fires in the courtyard where Shadow's Chaos attacks had set wood ablaze and sent people running, and Sonic thought it was absolutely_ brilliant. _

Only problem was, what to do with Manic now...?

"My Prince! Sonic!"

"Silver!" Sonic's face lit up as he saw the telekinetic floating above the madness toward them, his appearance of course adding to the headless screaming considerably. His former trainer was gesticulating wildly.

"Sonic, Prince Shadow, I managed to free the group you told me about from the dungeons, but-!"

"Good. I suppose they are responsible for about half of the current chaos at the moment?" Shadow asked, privately knowing from experience that the Chaotix were known to cause mass destruction even when they weren't even actively _trying_ to.

"Yes, I think so, and they said there's also a ninja chameleon of theirs here in the castle, but-!" Silver tried again, but this time it was Sonic who cheerfully cut him off.

"Espio? Cool, give that guy my regards. Don't mention anything about his default colour, by the way, he can be kind of touchy about that."

"What?" Silver asked, a bit confused. "No, Sonic, you don't understand, they were _looking-_"

"Sonic," Shadow cut across this time, the young telekinetic by now seeming a bit desperate, "I'm telling you, we don't have time for this." He turned to Silver. "You. What are you planning to do now?"

"Well, at the moment I am trying to _tell_ you-!"

"Good." Shadow nodded. "That means you have time to take care of him." And with that picked Manic up and placed him all but in Silver's arms.

"W-w-w-wait, _what_?" the five-quilled hedgehog stuttered, almost stumbling backwards. "Hey, wait a moment, I-!"

"Nice going, Shads, that's the second one of my friends you give away to other people without asking," Sonic shot an unmoved Shadow a slightly peeved look. On some level he seemed to see his supposed Master's point, though, for he added a bit more friendly to Silver, "Sorry, Silv, but where we're going it's gonna be plenty dangerous," Sonic gave his former trainer an apologetic smile, before at last turning to Manic "Hey Manic, it's okay. Silver can protect you. You trust him and me, right?"

"Yes?" Manic replied, though the completely and utterly lost look on his face indicated that the green hedgehog by now probably would have said yes to anything, only in the vain hope that the world might start to make sense again at some point.

"Great!" Sonic grinned. "Then you can leave the rest of the world-saving to us, no worries. You just take care of Manic and this castle, okay?"

Silver's stare directed at Shadow at this point said _Help Me, _but the black hedgehog seemed disinclined to listen. Instead, Shadow turned around and dusted his hands off, apparently all business now.

"Very well. Me and Sonic will have to leave, but we will find my 'father' and end this war before it has begun. Goodbye to you two."

"See ya around! We'll have this kingdom turned around in no time!" Sonic gave both Silver and Manic a two-fingered salute and his trademark grin and the next second both he and his Master had already zipped into the chaos again, leaving the two medieval hedgehogs standing there rooted to the spot.

"But, but the Chaotix said that you - oh, _sod_ it!" the young telekinetic snapped after the dust cloud and then seemed to finally give up on a lost cause. Looking at Manic, he added; "You know, dunno how much you've seen of Sonic so far, but whoever thought that this guy would ever make an obedient slave was obviously out of his mind..."

xxx

"Alright. Can we leave the castle _now_? With every moment we wait my Chaos reserves are becoming increasingly drained and Black Doom is getting farther away," Shadow asked, the two hedgehogs having caught a momentary break behind some boxes in the courtyard before they would prepare their final dash for freedom. Sonic suddenly seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh...actually..."

"What?"

A lop-sided grin. "...can we rescue Princess Sally?"

"_Sonic!_"

"She saved me, Shads. It's the least I can do!" Sonic defended himself. "She and her Dad and his knights are locked in the tower and there's already parts of the castle burning. She could die in there! An' besides, if we get them out now, that King Max guy can join the war..." Sonic trailed off, looking to the side. Shadow slowly counted to ten. When he spoke, his voice was quiet.

"Sonic. This is a very dangerous situation. We are both running on empty. There is pure pandemonium in the castle. It would take just one wayward arrow to end us both."

Sonic didn't look at his supposed Master.

"I know."

Next, an ungloved, black-furred hand laid itself on a peach arm and gripped it, gently. When Sonic met Shadow's eyes at last, they were uncharacteristically soft.

"Sonic...I nearly lost you today." There was something in his voice, beyond the exhaustion and the strain of draining Chaos power, something wounded and almost..._scared_?

"I know," the hero of Mobius replied. He raised his own hand to cover the one of his supposed Master on his arm, trying with his touch to soothe the haunted expression, the fear half-hidden in Shadow's eyes. "I nearly lost you today, too."

"Even if I had survived the hanging, if you had died, I would have..." A shudder ran through Shadow's frame that had nothing to do with the cold, his sentence breaking off, but he didn't need to say anything further. Sonic knew, because he felt the same.

"Yeah. But...Shadow, I need to do this." _Because I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. _His partner hadn't said the words but Shadow heard them still and his grip tightened almost reflexivly at Sonic's words. Sonic had to rescue the princess because Sonic was a hero...

"And..." now the blue-furred speedster paused, before he had to seemingly force the words out that were hard for him to say because he had only so rarely uttered them before.

"I can't do this alone, Shadow. I need you."

_If you really love me..._

Crimson eyes looked at emerald and suddenly, Shadow again remembered so many things.

How those eyes had pleaded with him to let him run. How the other had been scared, but entrusted himself to him when he had carried him into the bathing pool. How he could have run away so many times but never did. How, only last night, had leaned into his touch instinctively, had laid back underneath him and let himself be taken willingly...

"I can't run away and leave her to die."

The words were simple, but they held rock-solid determination. And, of course, Shadow understood. This was the Sonic the Hedgehog he loved. And whenever there had been talk of 'breaking' him, then _this_ was what they would have really meant, this was what would have gone so much deeper than any chains or whips or collars. It would have been about taking away those things that defined him. Forbid him to do the things that let him feel who he is. Let him fail at what his entire being screamed he had to do...

_And that_, Shadow thought, _was something I swore never to see happen._

"Alright," the Ultimate Lifeform smirked. "Let's rescue the princess."

Sonic kissed him.

And that, Shadow thought, was not such a bad reward at all.

xxx

"You and your saving-people-thing. Why do I let myself get roped into this?" Shadow grumbled a few minutes later, but of course it was empty of any actual annoyance.

"I do _not_ have a saving-people-thing."

"Do too."

"Do no-well, _maybe_, but that's beside the point," Sonic tried and shook his head. "What's so bad about a saving-people-thing, anyway...?"

"I'll tell you in detail when we are both dead," Shadow stated casually and peeked around the corner once more. "Ready?"

"When you are," Sonic replied, tensing up. Shadow nodded. "Okay. _Chaos Spear!_"

The energy lance tore another hole into the wall of the castle, but that was merely meant as a distraction. While more screams erupted, Sonic and Shadow dashed across the open courtyard again, this time on the north side of the castle where the tower with the imprisoned delegation of King Max' realm was supposed to be. Shadow grabbed Sonic's wrist again and the collared hedgehog took a deep breath, right before his legs became a red, figure-eight shaped blur and let both Sapients shoot up the side of the tower like spiky spiders; they reached the window barred with beams of wood and Shadow's skates flashed into life, a powerful kick tearing the beams in half. Sonic alighted on the windowsill while Shadow dropped down again, preparing to give the thick oak door below a similar treatment while Sonic rallied the troops inside. The hero of Mobius turned around – to come face to face with a row of completely astonished knights that nevertheless all had their swords trained on him, King Acorn and his daughter standing just behind him.

Sonic blinked for a moment, but then decided to try his usual approach to royalty.

"Oh hey there, your Majesty. Hi, Sally!"

"A _slave_?" the elderly squirrely did not seem to be able to trust his eyes. "What is the _meaning _of this_?_!"

"S-Sonic?" Now the princess stepped forward from where her father had shoved her behind himself and the collared hedgehog found himself subjected to that piercing diamond stare a second time. "Is that really you?"

"The one and only, Princess." Sonic grinned, thumbing his own chest. "Me and Shads are here to get you and everyone out."

"Shads – you mean _Prince_ – oh, lower your swords already, he doesn't mean any harm!" she commanded the armed Sapients who looked first at her, then at her father, and when the King didn't voice any complaints, indeed lowered their blades. Sally stepped forward. "There has been shouting and noise outside for over half an hour. What is going on?"

Sonic shrugged. "Long story short, it's war. Black Doom is already up and gone with his troops. Me and Shadow were supposed to be executed this morning, but we...kinda spoilt it, I suppose," the blue hedgehog gave another grin.

"What? He is moving his troops?" the king snapped. "That turncoat! The crown of Acorn will not stand for this," he declared, turning to the stallion that seemed to be the commander of his Knights, "Sir Connery, we shall return and rally our own forces immediately!"

"I'm glad to hear it, father," princess Sally said, just a tad coolly. "So slaves are a bit more than just cattle now, are they?"

"Well..." the older squirrel appeared to be just a bit uncomfortable now. "I suppose...under the given circumstances..."

"Yes, father," Sally nodded, before ignoring him and finally closing the gap between Sonic and her. There was a curious smile coupled with a war strategist's interest in her eyes as she stopped just short in front of the slightly taller hedgehog who now looked just a tad the worse for wear than he had yesterday night. She gave a little smile as she looked him up and down. "Well," she said, pursing her lips. "Looks like _somebody_ escaped any serious punishment from the Prince yesterday."

Sonic briefly thought of replying with a smug _Well, not quite, _but didn't, as the Princess already continued.

"I'm glad you spoke the truth of how he treated you well."

Sonic shrugged. "Told ya, he's a good guy," he said easily. "And now we're about to turn this country upside down and stop slavery once and for all. So I guess we can count on you and your father's help?"

"As soon as we can escape from this castle and return to our borders, yes," the king replied at this point. "They're but half a day's gallop away, but first we need to be able to leave this tower."

"Oh that," Sonic waved him off. "Shadow's working on that."

And since there was nothing quite like dramatic timing, right at that very moment the door two storeys downwards was blown to smithereens.

xxx

"Finally, let's go!" Shadow called as Sonic was the first to burst out from the door of the tower that had served as prison for the family of Acorn. The collared hedgehog nodded.

"Okay. Are there any horses they'll be able to steal?"

"The stables are right over there, Sonic. And now we are _leaving,_" Shadow said with emphasis, one hand of his grabbing at the blue hedgehog's collar to let him stumble to his side as a sign that his supposed owner _really _didn't want to complete any more subquests now. King Maximillian's knights were charging out of the door at this point, but did not run into the resistance they had probably expected, the entire castle already in chaos beyond salvation, especially as the one purple lizard who had been left in control had probably been discovered in the destroyed throne room, wrapped like a Christmas present in all of Manic's belts and bracelets.

"Okay, okay! Let me go and we can be on our way! Bye, Sally!" Sonic called out as the two heroes of Mobius were about to take their leave, Shadow once again wondering how on Earth Sonic could be on first name basis with absolutely anyone even when he had only met them _twice. _

"Prince Shadow -_?_! Wait!" King Maximilian called out after them, but this time, Shadow ignored him. He was _definitely _running on empty now, and he only wanted to get out of this nightmarish castle as soon as possible. Fortunately, Sonic seemed to understand this, and the pair of them ran, leapt and skated through the courtyard again toward the main gate, freedom only a few seconds away now...

"PRINCE SHADOW! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS CASTLE ALIVE!"

"What _now?_!" both hedgehogs' heads whipped around, their gazes falling onto the feline guard commander, one of the few soldiers who actually seemed to have kept their head in the chaos. Sonic immediately rose to the bait, of course.

"Oh yeah, lady? And how are you gonna try and stop us?"

"_Release the hounds!" _the female commanded – and had only split seconds to wonder why both of the convicts first only blinked at her and then burst out out laughing.

"What's so funny_?_!"

"The...the _dogs_...Shads, she's gonna try and catch us with _dogs_...!" Sonic actually had to lean on his supposed Master now, the entire hero giggling, while even the black hedgehog had admittedly trouble to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, I know," Shadow replied. "Let's get going before they actually bite our tails off, though."

"I am not joking! Here they come!" roared the cat atop the wall, indeed pointing toward a kennel that had just been opened, feral dogs inside barking wildly.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. If it floats your boat," Shadow shrugged. "Oh, and by the way, King Maximilian and his knights should have stolen your horses by now."

"_What_ did you-?" the commander stammered, but by then this was really as far as she got, because by then, twelve knights flanking their crown princess and King were galloping towards them, Shadow used a last Chaos Spear to smash the wall she was standing on to pieces, somewhere else screaming soldiers were lifted in the air by a mysterious turquoise glow (together with a cry of 'It's no USE!'...), the front door of the inner castle entrance exploded as the Chaotix smashed through it, and not one of the hounds was able to catch anything as the two fastest things alive escaped laughing, finally running out of the castle that had held them prisoner for over a week, and escaping into the freedom of the open plains.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Heyhey! It's a chapter ending without a cliffhanger, the world is coming to an end! :P Summer of Sonic was fantastic_, _btw, the pre-Party was so much fun and standing amid a thousand voiced roaring 'Happy Birthday, Sonic!' is a memory I won't forget any time soon. In other news, it's now EXAMTIEM! and I'm back in my personal hell.^^° Well, not quite, a personal highlight of the week was getting some friends over and trying out the Chili Dog recipe from this Sonic anniversary mag they were selling in the UK...it has a full-page fanart next to it of Sonic in socks, a pink frilly apron and he's pulling a french maid pose, which, frankly, was slightly disturbing and once again let my friends question the sanity of my fandom, but they were really tasty, so if anyone of you is in possession of that recipe, I encourage you to try it out, too. :D

Also, new FANART! Link on my profile.^^ Wonder whether there'll ever be a collection of sketches for all the chapters...? ;) _  
_

Thanks for all your reviews, hope you liked this chappie, too, and here's hopefully to an update that won't take another five months! ;) **_  
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	49. Royally Screwed

Hi there! Yeah, kind of has been a while, I think?^^° But I hope you like this chapter, a big Thank You! to anyone who's still reading! This story WILL be finished, no worries!

* * *

**Chapter 49: Royally Screwed**

"_Oh ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-ea-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah-h-h-h-h-!" _

It was that sound that was currently tearing through the barren plains below Black Doom's Castle (or what was left of it) and not even Shadow could prevent himself from feeling just a little bit affected in the sheer _joy_ riding on the blue hero's whoop. Right now they were two blue and black blurs, Sonic's feet racing over the dry earth so fast that the steady patter of his feet became an indistinguishable droning, his own skates blazing brightly and hissing with each powerful push. Now they were finally leaving the castle that had held them both prisoners for over a week, Sonic even more so than Shadow, and the elation at their escape from was visible in every ecstatic movement of the blue hedgehog's body, his collar now the only reminder that he had ever been restrained at all.

"We're free, Shadow! FREE! Isn't this _brilliant?" _

The next call was accompanied by the former crown Prince's former pet briefly turning into an energetic tornado, whirling in circles around the other hedgehog, then eventually running in front of him, backwards, peach-furred arms spread as wide as his grin. Shadow permitted himself a small smile in response, gradually slowing down his speed as he did so and was pleased to note that Sonic seemingly automatically did the same until they were both moving at a much more leisurely pace.

Ooooh, had the last few days ever been piling up the energy bills in his metabolism household...

"Yes, it is. Now it just depends what we do with our freedom as our next move," the black hedgehog agreed, ignoring several immediate suggestions of his brain that was obviously not quite focused at the task at hand and was suggesting to just take Sonic to the closest quiet-looking bushes and wing it from there.

"We can do ANYTHING! Anything we want now!" the blue hedgehog called back over his shoulder, still giddy and exhilarated, every fibre of the speedster's being suggesting that freedom was more than even a drug to him, was the very air he breathed and he had been choking in the poisonous miasma of the castle for way too long...

"Which is alright, as long as we do it sensibly," replied Shadow flatly, privately wondering where all of that energy was even _coming_ from. "That was insanity in the castle."

"No way, it was awesomeness at work!" Sonic protested. "In fact, _I_ think we should've put on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack."

"On all the medieval boom boxes standing around, yes. How about we slow down for a break in those woods over there and think about our next step?" Shadow asked, lightly touching the blue hedgehog's arm as he pointed over to the thin line of trees that had started cropping up to their right as they were running over the plain. Sonic thought this might have been part of the larger forest he had previously encountered the slave hunters in, but didn't care. Together they would be safe from anything.

"Yeah, sure," the collared hero agreed easily, a slight pinch of worry for the first time managing to make it through the happy haze that was Sonic's brain right now as the blue hedgehog became once more aware of Shadow's condition – it had not improved ever since their night in the dungeons and the signs of tiredness were now visible even if you didn't know the black hedgehog that well, a sure warning sign. He slowed down as they approached the trees until they had actually reached a normal walking pace and entered the cool air of the forest. Their feet sank into the grass and moss, a welcome soft contrast to the barren earth of the plain.

"Maybe we can also catch a bit of a rest and find some food here," Sonic suggested, "I know there's a river here somewhere..."

"I don't need a rest." Shadow's voice was irritable, which ironically by now signaled to Sonic that yes, he needed a rest very much.

"Chill out, it'll be fine. Doesn't matter if we give ourselves a break before we tear Black Doom a new one. He's probably busy for a while anyway, what with the echid-wait." Sonic had stopped on their way traversing the forest, which seemed to be thinner at this point, since there was already daylight filtering through the trees on the other side. Now the collared hedgehog turned toward his supposed Master with wide and excited eyes.

"Shadow, what if we find the _echidna camp?_"

"What? No." Shadow stopped as well. "Why would we do that?"

"Because they could give us food and a place for a decent rest," Sonic argued. "And we could cooperate with them against Black Doom."

"We have no idea how they'd react to us. They might as well kill us on the spot or try to take me hostage."

"But-"

"Besides, we both know why you _really _want to go there," Shadow said, and, though his voice was not harsh or unfriendly, it still let Sonic almost flinch and avert his eyes for a second. But when he turned back to Shadow, they were already full of the seriousness that the blue hedgehog only reserved for a select few topics, and this was one of them.

"But...he's my little bro. And he might be with them. And I could see him one last time...before I leave this world."

Shadow raised an eye ridge. "You make it sound like you were dying. Also, the fox kit you're responsible for is the Tails of _our _world."

"But..."

"Sonic." The blue hedgehog's eyes widened just a little, as his supposed Master suddenly grabbed one of his hands, ungloved black-furred fingers closing around his own. A crimson stare met his. "We've been through this. You're stretching yourself, and your responsibilities too far. We're saving this world." Shadow took a step closer toward him. "Let that be enough."

There was a moment of silence as the two hedgehogs stood looking at each other, Sonic not quite knowing what to say after Shadow's words. He couldn't hear anything apart from their breathing, and now that he listened, Shadow's wasn't coming quite as easily...

_Damn. He's really not looking too well, is he..._

The Ultimate Lifeform's ears were drooping and his shoulders sagging. The cut on his face from where one of the guards had hit him hadn't quite stopped bleeding yet, an indicator that the black hedgehog's body was struggling with even basic self-repair. Even the red eyes that were usually gazing at the world so fiercely seemed to be glazed with tiredness now and...the hand that held Sonic's had just trembled ever so slightly.

_Damn. Shadow hasn't eaten anything. He's blasted a castle to shreds with Chaos Spears – _without_ an Emerald. He didn't even __sleep__. Maybe..._Sonic swallowed. _Maybe there's only __**one**__ responsibility for me at this point, and it's not Black Doom. _

He slowly raised a hand to his tired partner's face. "Shadow..."

Sonic was about to say more, but at this point a noise interrupted the both of them and their heads whisked around; there were sounds, and it were the sounds of people. Both hedgehogs immediately crouched a little bit more and sunk lower into the cover of the bushes, but made their way forward to the edge of the forest, trying to get a clearer look at the movement at the top of the gently sloping hill that rose where the vegetation stopped. And then their eyes widened.

Because outside of the forest, there was an army.

xxx

"We give up! We give up! Don't turn us into frogs!"

"Hey!"

"No offence meant, Kermit."

Just about an hour prior, Silver the Hedgehog was regarding the small group of shaking castle guards he had rounded up that had dropped their weapons and were now staring at him in terror. They seemed more boys than men, peasant's sons who had foolishly been hoping for a better life in the army, and the three of them, one donkey, one beaver and one frog apparently named Kermit, were all regarding him as if he was the End of Days. Silver sighed.

"For the last time, _I am not a witch_."

"Yes! Of course not! Whatever you say! Please don't throw us into a cauldron!"

"I _said_ I'm not a witch, I just have telekinetic-oh, _forget_ it. Drop anything you can hurt people with, and run home to your parents. And do it _fast_, because there's worse things coming than me," Silver added, watching the three kits skedaddling almost as soon as he'd finished his sentence. He hoped they'd heed his advice, because Sonic and Shadow were still tearing up the castle at the North Side and even if _they _avoided killing anyone, the war was approaching and the troops were marching. The only thing he could do was try and keep things at the castle contained. Sonic had also asked him to free the court musicians imprisoned in the dungeon, which he had done by briefly bending the steel bars of their cell, but there hadn't even been time to talk to them. So he didn't know what _they _would do, either. Or why they even were here.

Speaking of which...

"Oy! You there, silver boy!"

"What?" the addressed hedgehog turned around to see the large crocodile of the group he had freed wave at him from the end of the corridor. "Oh. Hey. Glad to see you're out...I think," Silver replied, still feeling a bit wary around the group of unknowns that according to Rouge for some reason had entered the fight in the throne room and then had been imprisoned as well. Sonic had said they were the...wasn't it some odd name, the blue hedgehog had said? Confusix? Anarchics?

"Yeah, thanks a lot for busting us outta there! I'm Vector the Crocodile of the Order of Chaotix."

...right.

"...I'm Silver the Hedgehog," the former trainer ventured forth, a bit wary about the towering reptile, and which role they played in all this. But they _had_ helped take the castle, right...? Even though he had _never _heard about any 'Order of Chaotix' in all of Black Doom's realm.

"Then I also need to thank you, Silver the Hedgehog, for saving the Prince's life this morning. Without you, our mission would have failed."

"Oh." Silver blinked, then smiled a little. "Thanks, I suppose. Though really, you should probably thank Sonic. He's the one who made me want to save the Prince in the first place."

Now it was the crocodiles's turn to look a bit confused. "Wait, what are you talking about? I didn't mean Prince _Shadow_."

Silver's eyes widened. "What? Then who-?"

xxx

"Damn..." Sonic whispered. The army atop the hill outside the forest seemed _massive,_ even if you could only see their foremost cavalry approaching its top and gazing out over the plain below, but their line of soldiers stretched _wide. _There were banners flying among their ranks, too, but the golden emblem resembling a three-pointed leaf on purple ground did not resemble any crests they had seen in Black Doom's palace, so Sonic assumed they could not be the troops of the alien overlord. It was still somewhat hard to see, but the blue hedgehog thought that he also couldn't discern anything that would have looked like slaves or peasants coerced into foot soldier service among them. Rather, most of the Sapients continuing to assemble on the crest of the hill had an experienced and well-equipped look to them, even if their expressions were grim, but not lacking in resolve.

At their head, a single figure astride an imposing feral horse rode up and paused, the army also rallying to a halt behind. Spikes protruding through the back of the shining armour were undeniable proof that this leader had to be a hedgehog as well, although taller than Sonic or Shadow. It let Sonic breathe a tiny sigh of relief, since that also meant the new arrival couldn't be Scourge by any insane kind of twist of fate. The sun briefly protruded through the low-hanging grey clouds for only a second, but it was enough to let the metal of the armour shine as if in divine providence. The figure straightened and there seemed to be a collective movement in the assembled soldiers behind it, as if they were only waiting for the slightest signal to follow their leader into battle.

"We should get out of here," Shadow murmured, preparing to retreat, but Sonic's hand on his arm stopped him.

"No, let's wait just a moment. I wanna know who that is…couldn't be one of the troops of Sally's Dad already, right?"

"No, we've been heading into the wrong direction for that," Shadow replied, crimson eyes now squinting into the distance as well. "Plus, I think the Kingdom of Acorn had a different banner, theirs was green..."

The leader's form was well-built, tall but slender, shoulders broader than the waist giving off an impression of strength. Sonic couldn't quite discern the colour of the quills, but it seemed to be a dark one…the face was obscured by a visor, though and now the fastest thing alive wouldn't be satisfied until he had seen it.

"Come on, let's have them acknowledge us," he said, already about to step out of their protective foliage, dragging Shadow behind.

"What? Look, I'm supposed to be the _Prince of the enemy nation_ in case you have forgott-"

"Traitor Prince. Oy! Over here!" Sonic called, waving to the hedgehog on the horse. Heads whipped around as the soldiers noticed the odd couple that seemed to have just tumbled from the bushes down below.

"Relax, Shadow," the hero of Mobius tried to calm his already close to exploding partner. "If they want trouble, we just take off. Not like they could catch us, right? And maybe they can even point us into the right direction of Black Doom or be allies or something."

Shadow was just about to reply…but it was at that point that the leader of the troops reached up and opened their visor. And the two dimensional travellers stared into eyes that seemed older than they should be, fiercer than they could be, but still wise enough for a king of kings…except that they belonged to a queen.

"Sonic?!" Queen Aleena shouted. "My SON!"

"_What_-_?_!" the blue hedgehog's jaw seemed ready to not just hit the floor but actually dig a little ditch in it with a shovel. He could feel Shadow grab his wrist now, his grip tight.

"Sonic…"

"And Prince _Shadow_!" The purple hedgehog exclaimed, before then pointing a single royal finger at the pair. " Rescue my son! AND CAPTURE PRINCE SHADOW ALIVE OR DEAD!"

Two streaks of black and blue had vanished beyond the horizon so fast, there hadn't even been _time _for a sonic boom yet.

xxx

"...agents of Queen Aleena's realm, supposed to search through King Doom's lands and castle in disguise, on a secret quest for the heir to the throne of our country who disappeared two years ago. That's pretty much our mission in a nutshell," Vector was at the moment explaining to Silver, who seemed rather dumbstruck at the moment.

"Do you mean...I was actually trying to...'train'...a..." the telekinetic hedgehog by now appeared to be choking on his own words and his silver hue had all but turned to copper in his mortified face.

xxx

"…what the _hell_?" Shadow asked finally, leaning against a tree for support and trembling badly, the sudden supersonic sprint the last thing he had been needing right now. His supposed pet was kneeling on the ground at his feet, hands spread in the dirt, seeming more than shocked himself. Shadow actually had had to stop him from running even further at some point because otherwise they would have likely ended up in another country.

"I think…" the blue hedgehog panted. "I think I might have been a little too early in complaining that everyone was a sodding Prince _but_ me…."

xxx

"What? What is wrong with the Master Emerald?" The biplane called the _Tornado _had barely touched the surface of Angel Island before its young pilot, Miles "Tails" Prower had already leapt out and was running toward the bat and the echidna sitting on the grass in front of the shrine where the large green gem stone sat that was keeping the isle aloft in the sky.

"We...we tried to get Tikal to show us where the seventh Chaos Emerald might have gone," Rouge tried to explain while simultaneously rubbing a seriously distraught-seeming Knuckles' back, "But it only showed...well, Sonic break-dancing at a costume ball..."

"_It's making fun of us!" _Knuckles cried out at this point, "The entire world is going to hell because we can't find that missing stone and the Master Emerald doesn't even seem to know Sonic is currently out of his mind and locked up at Tails' house!" A spiked fist punching the ground to his side in desperation punctuated that statement before the last of the Guardians buried his face in his hands again, seemingly having given up on the world in general. Tails bit his teeth and appeared to try his hardest to think.

"No...I can't believe the Master Emerald would show us anything that's irrelevant. Maybe it was showing us events of the future?" he ventured, a small smile even gracing his lips at that thought, "If Sonic will be break-dancing again at some point, it could indicate that everything could be okay again...or maybe it's some sort of hint of what is supposed to happen, what we need to do?" the fox kit asked, looking from the mysteriously glowing stone on the altar to Rouge, who shrugged, and back.

"I dunno, kiddo. I can only tell you how much a gem is worth, not what it's trying to tell you. Why don't you try and take a look yourself?"

"Al...alright..." the two-tail nodded, hesitating a bit as he beheld the Master Emerald glowing against the sky, but then starting to ascend the stairs to the stone altar.

"Master Emerald...Tikal...Chaos, I beg you," he said, breathing the words against the cool crystal surface, "Show us what needs to happen before everything can be right again. Please."

Rouge and even Knuckles looked up, as shapes began to form inside the green light once more, the Emerald obviously trying to grant the kit's request. All of them watched in silent anticipation...

...and then there was a single, high pitched scream worse than any Rouge had ever heard, when the Master Emerald then only showed a picture that was crystal clear in its intent, and it showed both Sonic and Shadow, hung at their necks and very, very dead.

xxx

"I keep thinking this _can't_ get any worse, and then somehow it does."

Only one dimensional jump away, a blue hedgehog who had indeed been hung at morning moaned at this point, quietly wondering whether he should even get up anymore and whether he and Shadow couldn't instead remain in this peaceful forest they had run into forever.

"What were you even _doing_ as my slave when you're supposed to be a prince as well?" Shadow asked from where he was still leaning against his tree, arms folded over his chest now, but even so he had trouble controlling his breathing and Sonic noticed that the Ultimate Lifeform's voice was trembling with what could only be exhaustion after their supersonic flight.

"I don't know," Sonic was shaking his head, finally picking himself off the ground and standing up. "By now this dimension seems to be running on crack and high octane nightmare fuel alone, anyway...what do we do now?"

Sonic looked at Shadow as he said this, and for once there was an uncertainty in those usually so confident green eyes that told the midnight hedgehog his supposed slave might have been actually truly shaken by this discovery. The Ultimate Lifeform was sharply reminded that unlike him, Sonic had never had an actual family growing up, Shadow at least having had a sister in Maria and a sort of father figure in his creator, Professor Gerald Robotnik. But Sonic's parents, as far as he knew, had died before he was even one year of age...and now the concept of him having a mother _here_ of all places seemed to freak the collared hero out more than even the idea of his body technically being owned by somebody else.

"Did that hedgehog female look like your mother in our home dimension?" Shadow finally asked and now Sonic was surprised to note that it was for once almost a gentle voice. Nevertheless, the hero of Mobius couldn't help but look away as he replied.

"I...think so. Maybe. I dunno, my parents died before I was old enough to remember them. I saw...pictures of them, though. I think she had purple hair."

"...I see," Shadow replied eventually. There was again a moment of silence before he added, "It's not the easiest start you can get, not having a family."

"As we both know," Sonic sighed, straightening himself up again and turning to Shadow. "Seems like our doubles in this world have at least...well, some sort of family, I guess."

" True," Shadow replied matter-of-factly, but then a small smirk crept upon his features when he added. "Though if you factor in that in _this_ dimension I also have a 'father' who wants to first torture and then kill my precious pet..."

"...maybe Mobius is the better home dimension after all," Sonic grinned back, closing the distance between them and placing both of his hands to the sides of Shadow's hip, leaning in closer now with an almost predatory expression. "Especially as your _partner_ doesn't appreciate being your personal property, 'Master'," Sonic purred, pleased to see that Shadow at least didn't seem to tired to let his crimson eyes assume a darkly amused gleam and a black-furred hand came up slowly to lock an index finger into Sonic's collar to pull him possessively closer, a motion that was almost too familiar by now...

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Shadow whispered into Sonic's ear and the midnight hedgehog's low voice was enough to let electric current flow through the collared hero's body, and this would almost have been enough to let him forget about all of this dimension's problems, all about the war and the other Sonic's royal parents, all about Black Doom and Scourge, just for one, brief moment...

Except this was the exact point in time where suddenly a battle scream pierced the air and echidna warriors broke through the foliage in an ambush, and before Sonic could even whirl around into a surprised battle stance, Shadow's body had also picked this most recent moment of shock as the perfect point to finally collapse, and within fractions of a second, the fastest thing alive found himself standing between a charging red horde, and his presently unconscious lover on the ground.

"Oh _brother..."_

_To be continued..._

* * *

Don't ask me how the Master Emerald works, btw. In my opinion it's actually trolling at this point.

Also, in case you're wondering, yes, that bit with Silver took place just before Silver actually tries to aks _Sonic _about his princely status, and before Sonic dumps Manic on the poor telekinetic and runs off with Shadow. It's a bit of a flashback.

The reason for this insanely long hiatus was mostly me moving to Japan...Japanese universities and their workload is *insane*. Thank the gods it's spring break. But hope you like this chapter, even if it's short! :D Reviews and PMs will be answered shortly.^^ Also new FANART! Please visit profile :)


	50. Where Heroes Rest

Sooo...I *think* this updated a bit quicker than last time? ^^° Hope you like! :D **  
**

* * *

_For Skyblaze, because it's your birthday. :) _

ooo_  
_

**Chapter 50: Where Heroes Rest  
**

_Hello..._

_...can anyone hear me?_

_If yes, my name is Shadow the Hedgehog. And if I'm currently talking to the universe, I'd like to file a complaint. _

"Nnnggh..."

Consciousness was currently returning to the Ultimate Lifeform, and Shadow was also currently wishing it wouldn't.

He gave another soft moan of pain, exhaustion and the general wretchedness one feels when waking up in a body that has now decided it hates you, and will torture you for everything you put it through. In the black hedgehog's world, everything was dark, blurry and horrible right now, and his mind was a complete mess of yesterday's jumbled memories and painful warning signals from all over his body. Years of ingrained training as a weapon of war and mass destruction were also shouting at him that he simply _couldn't_ lie here, that there was danger everywhere, what he was even _thinking _to be a sitting duck like this... _?_!

_Okay. Hold on. _Shadow tried to collect himself. What had happened? They had escaped the castle...found...oh gods, found Sonic's _mother_, and then...they had been in a forest. They had been arguing. Sonic had wanted to go to the Echidnas, but Shadow had said no. Which, of course, could only mean one thing as a consequence...

Shadow finally opened his eyes, spotted Sonic right next to him and fixed the blue hedgehog with a _very _weary glance.

"We're at the echidna camp, aren't we."

"Shadow!" Green eyes lit up and the blue hedgehog's face immediately morphed into a smile so radiant, Shadow thought it should require a licence. "You woke up!"

The black hedgehog groaned.

"Well done, faker. Ten out of ten for observation."

"Wow, _you're_ a ray of sunshine," Sonic commented, but his smile hadn't vanished, just turned a bit more sarcastic. "I was just glad you're finally awake."

"Urgh. At least one of us is happy about it, then" Shadow winced and tried to sit, but various muscles immediately let him know that this would be a Very Bad Idea. Grimacing, he turned his head a little to at least take in some more of their surroundings. He was lying on some sort of bed in a tent, he noted, and someone had draped a blanket over his lower body. Sonic seemed to have been kneeling on the earthen floor next to the bed, dozing with his head on his arms folded at Shadow's side, but had immediately perked up when the black hedgehog had woken and was now looking down on him, one ear folded, his expression between the relieved and the curious. Behind the blue hedgehog through a slit in the tent entrance Shadow could also see his that his suspicion had actually been correct. There were red-furred Sapients walking past everywhere, and the sounds around them indicated that they had to be at the edge of a mass of people - an _army_.

"Why am I not surprised we're here," Shadow muttered, but there was more defeat than resentment in it.

"Well, it's not like we had much of a choice," Sonic replied without missing a beat, "You fainted the moment the echidna warriors came charging toward us, and I wasn't _really_ in a state where I could have picked you up and run, either," the blue hedgehog said, rubbing the back of his head with a bit of an awkward smile, but then turned serious quickly. "How do you feel now?" he asked, and Shadow could feel the blue hero's hand sneak over and gloves fingers naturally entangling with his own as the blue hedgehog continued with a bit more sombre tone. "You...actually scared me when you collapsed. Are you any better now?" he asked and the black hedgehog could now briefly see a flash of very uncharacteristic worry in the other's green eyes, only a hint of what the other must have gone through during those past few hours...Shadow felt a bit of a sting that it was his weakness that had caused trouble, but tried to ignore his anger with himself for now.

"Yeah," he replied instead, again trying to prop himself up on his elbows and actually suceeding this time. "Just needed to rest. How long was I out, anyway? And," he added, surveying the tent entrance that wasn't actually guarded by anyone, any lack of new restraints on either of them and finally the tent which was actually very cosy and the bed comfortable, given the circumstances - "...I take it we aren't prisoners, then?"

"Nope," Sonic gave him a broad grin, "Thanks to your amazing partner's silver tongue, they now know all about us splitting from Black Duh and are totally our allies."

Shadow raised an eye ridge at Sonic's beaming face but then actually deigned to give an appreciative nod when it became clear the blue hedgehog hadn't been exaggerating – even though to anyone else the slightly more ragged-looking Mobian who still had the collar forced around his neck might have seemed vastly inferior to Shadow, the midnight hedgehog knew this to be entirely untrue. While they were evenly matched in speed and fighting capabilities, each of them also displayed a range of unique talents – Shadow's manipulation of Chaos Energy was unmatched, but just now it showed that Sonic obviously was just as talented with people, the black hedgehog thought. The last thing Shadow remembered was a horde of echidna warriors charging toward them, but know the ant-eaters seemed to have done a 180 and treated them as guests.

"Really?" the black hedgehog asked, disentangling their hands and once again wincing as he attempted to get into a position more upright than reclining on his elbows while trying to ignore the protests of a body that wouldn't let him.

"Uh-huh." Sonic sounded very satisfied. "They plan to go to battle at dawn, by the way. Right now sun's just about to go down, so I guess that's about ten hours we're left with. Uh...are you _sure_ you're fine? We have been through a lot..."

"I _said_ so, didn't I?"

Sonic's tone had been worried and Shadow's answer curt, the black hedgehog able to feel a bit of annoyance creeping up now, even if he wasn't sure whether it was at Sonic for doubting his assurances, or at his own body for letting him down and embarrassingly collapse this morning. Sonic's green eyes spoke volumes right now, some worry for his partner at the forefront, a slight wariness because he could obviously sense that Shadow's temper was on a bit of a trigger, and just a hint of a warning, that he likely wouldn't tolerate it if it was.

"Shads..." Sonic resisted the urge to bite his lip, half-rising next to the black hedgehog and bending slightly over him. He could understand where Shadow was coming from – if this was him, he'd be hard-pressed not to act the same – but with them going off to war tomorrow, this was just something he wouldn't be able to ignore.

"Look, I'm fine-_ah_!" Shadow's eyes went wide as his body disobeyed him for the second time on the same day. The black hedgehog had grasped the blanket that was covering his lower body and yanked it off violently, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed to get up and that was when things started to go wrong. Instead of supporting him, both knees buckled and the Ultimate Lifeform started to collapse.

"Shadow!" Sonic called out, the event unravelling like in slow-motion before him and he lunged forward the same second as Shadow's arms flew out toward him. The collared hero could feel his supposed Master's hands close around his upper arms, his own hands grasping Shadow's sides to support him – but there wasn't much he could do. The artificially engineered hedgehog was much heavier than himself, and being on his knees was not the most stable position, so the hero of Mobius pretty soon could feel himself going into a tumble as well, keeling over forwards as he was pulled down by Shadow. The only thing he could do was trying to catch both himself and his partner from hitting the floor at full impact by bracing his arms and avoid falling on top of the other to add even more possible bruises. Red eyes opened as soon as they had stabilized and their gazes met again, this time with Shadow's face noticeably more flushed as he hadn't even been able to keep himself upright.

"Sha-_guh_."

Sonic had started to speak, to break the awkward silence, but his words were interrupted by a sharp intake of breath as he could feel Shadow...doing _something _to him, and the black hedgehog's expression had also changed, transforming from one of shame and fustration into...a sudden curiosity and need...

"Sonic..." he could hear the other's voice now, whispering. "I'm...sorry..."

"What-?" the blue hedgehog was confused, most of all, especially as Shadow now managed to sit up in one smooth movement, his hands shifting from Sonic's arms to his torso, the black hedgehog now encircling the kneeling hero in a hug, his face buried somewhere in his neck, and holding on for what seemed like dear life.

"Shadow...?" Sonic tried to speak, but was again immediately silenced as he suddenly felt as if something was _stirring _inside himself, and the area where Shadow was touching him started to heat up and to...prickle...

"Please...just let me..."

Sonic's eyes fluttered closed and he could feel himself going slightly dizzy and limp in the other's arms, since their iron grip already seemed to indicate that resistance was futile – and right now the blue hero's head was spinning as he tried to figure out what his supposed Master was even _doing_ to him.

_Chaos, this is...Chaos? _

Sonic could sense himself becoming lightheaded, surroundings darkening, Shadow's solid presence around him the only thing that he could still focus on, his own legs long since having turned to jelly underneath him. He was also becoming aware of a...sucking sensation now, and was faintly reminded of the feeling when they had held hands on the morning of their execution, during their first attempt at escape...

_My Chaos Energy. Shadow is...absorbing it again? _

Sonic had difficulty focusing on any one thought, the sensations Shadow was wreaking on his body making it much too difficult get his mind organized. But that had to be it, the black hedgehog instinctively seeking out the Energy he so sorely needed to survive and that he had already told Sonic his body stored in excess...

"Guh..." But right now, even knowing this, the blue hero was hard-pressed not to wriggle in the other's grasp, the feeling of having something inside his body that he had no control over stirred and manipulated by somebody else was hard to bear. But he knew Shadow needed this...the blue hedgehog was squeezing his eyes shut, trying not to make a noise and to silently bear the foreign, tickling sensation the black hedgehog was able to create all over his body.

_Sonic...I am so sorry... _

Shadow was clinging to him like someone who was drowning, crushing the slender frame of his supposed pet in what could only be described as a death grip. But Sonic was full of pure, pulsating _Chaos_, a life force for the artificially created hedgehog that he needed like oxygen. Shadow could feel his supposed pet's breath hitching, the blue-furred flanks trembling ever so slightly under his hands as the collared hedgehog tried not to squirm, tried to hold still for Shadow sucking the Chaos energy out of him where their skin connected.

"Am I...hurting you?" Shadow almost couldn't force the words past his tongue, wasn't sure what he would even do with Sonic's answer. He _needed_ this. And he was as ashamed of himself for putting Sonic into discomfort like this like he had been in the dungeon at first, only last night...

"Uh...no. It's just..._weird_." Sonic's answer came with some retardation, his voice sounding like he had to keep himself under control to remain as limp and docile as he was in Shadow's arms, trying to suppress a whimper when it became too much. While the reply calmed the black hedgehog somewhat, it still didn't help him with what he knew he was doing – manipulating the Chaos Energy within another living being, and Sonic _let_ him, even if this was probably one of the most invasive things you could do to someone else, the Ultimate Lifeform thought.

But Sonic _trusted_ him...trusted him this much...Shadow could feel the other pressing closer against him, seeking reassurance in his closeness even if the black hedgehog was the one actually causing his discomfort. It once again hit the black hedgehog just how strong the other actually had to be to be able to completely _give_ himself to someone else, let someone in as far as he did without being afraid to get hurt. When Shadow finally felt that his Chaos caches were again at a comfortable level, he at last managed to end the tight embrace, loosening his arms around the other and holding Sonic at his shoulders, both hedgehogs by now kneeling on the floor. Sonic, looking slightly groggy, managed to give Shadow a somewhat dizzy smile.

"Feeling better, I take it?"

"...yes. Thank you. That was..." Shadow had to take a breath. "That was something incredibly precious and something you should never have had to give me. I'm...sorry."

"Nah, it's fine," Sonic waved him off, but there was a certain shine in his green eyes that told Shadow that the blue hedgehog had appreciated Shadow's expression of gratitude. "After all, it's not like I needed anything you took, right? It was just..._weird,_" Sonic repeated his earlier words, giving a demonstrative shiver for emphasis.

"Well, your body might not have minded giving up the energy as it would prioritise food as an energy source over Chaos energy, yes," Shadow nodded. "You might not be able to use any Chaos attacks in the upcoming battle without first getting the Emerald, though."

"Not my style, anyway," Sonic shrugged, before giving Shadow a wink. "I leave that stuff to you. And now that we're all fueled up and ready to go, how about stepping outside and meeting the folks?" Sonic grinned, gesturing to the small tent's entrance, before just a bit of that familiar glow entered his eyes and he shifted his weight instead, leaning forward towards Shadow again and giving him a lazy smile with a half-lidded gaze. "Or maybe you want to take a couple minutes of alone time before we go out there...?" the blue hedgehog asked, a peach-furred hand still covered in Shadow's glove finding its way easily to brush over the cheek of the other, and the hero of Mobius tilting his head up a little to softly nuzzle the other side of Shadow's face, breath softly tickling tan and black fur in a whisper. But green eyes widened in surprise as Shadow's hands instead went up to grab his shoulders, not ungently but with enough strength to overcome any resistance, pushing him away and holding him at a distance.

"Don't," Shadow said, crimson eyes looking serious with a warning in them. "We're not alone in the prince's chambers any more, someone could come in here any minute."

"One, as if that would've been any different in the freakin castle, and two, so what?" Sonic blinked at him, looking taken aback but not so much hurt as concerned. "Shadow, I ain't gonna hide what you mean to me. Anyone who's got a problem with us will have to deal with it," he stated, not trying to get out of Shadow's grip immobilizing him, but emerald gaze lightly frowning now. His words still reverberated with easy confidence though, lacking any real aggressiveness that only could come from someone who was truly at ease with himself...before briefly faltering, as something else apparently occurred to him.

"Or do you want to hide us?" Sonic asked, quietly.

"Wha – no!," Shadow replied just as quickly. "Hell, you know I care about opinions even less. But at the moment we depend on our hosts and I don't know what echidnas-"

"Whom someone loves is their own business among my people. We keep private matters private. Good evening, Prince Shadow, by the way," the new arrival added to his statement, just as the black hedgehog had whirled around like a spooked cat toward the tribe leader's son now in the tent entrance. Sonic gave a sort of lop-sided smile.

"Oh. Hi there, Knux."

xxx

"Uh...Master?"

"Yes? I mean, no. I mean, why are these things always happening to _me_?" The silver hedgehog was looking up at Manic with the pleading face of someone who currently wished he might just be able to shovel himself a comfy ditch, crawl into it and lie there quietly for all eternity, but the rest of the universe for some reason just wouldn't let him.

"I...oh gods, I _groped_ a prince, Manic. A _prince_."

"Uhm...well, you didn't know he was one. Right? And...it could be worse," the green hedgehog with the unruly spikes obviously tried his best to comfort his former trainer, who was sitting on a bit of castle rubble, hiding his face in his hands. Now weary amber eyes looked up at Manic and Silver tried his best to compose himself.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Well..." the green hedgehog seemed to hesitate a little, undoubtedly an attitude derived from years of belonging to a Master who _would _shoot the messenger, if only for sport. He gestured awkwardly. "Well, this is only this humble slave's opinion, but...you and him parted on good terms, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so," sighed Silver. Sonic didn't seem to be the type to be holding a grudge. But...

"And I mean, even _if_ his mother, Queen Aleena is currently out for the heads of the people who hurt her son and is commanding an army...I'm sure Sonic would testify on your behalf!"

"...Manic?"

"Yes?"

"Please go and see if there's any of the rope left they tried to hang Prince Sonic with, because then I just might save her Majesty the trouble."

xxx

"I don't particularly care what you two were doing in here, but call me 'Knux' again and we might have a problem," the red-furred anteater raised an eye ridge while Sonic returned the rebuke with his usual grin, the two hedgehogs finally picking themselves up from the floor, dusting off their fur and standing more or less straight now while the echidna continued, "I take it you've explained things to your...owner?" he asked. Sonic seemed to cringe slightly at this reminder of his former status, but recovered quickly.

"Yeah, mostly. He knows you're not about to kill us and we're now pretty much all set to lead the charge into battle tomorrow...which would probably go about a million times better if you had any food available, of course," Sonic finished, favouring Knuckles with a brilliant smile.

"Well, I suppose it _would_ be a shame if you starved after surviving your own hanging," the echidna replied dryly, before nodding his head toward the tent flap. "Right, come on. Food's at the fire. You haven't eaten since this morning, so you better make it count."

"You haven't had anything either?" Shadow asked, briefly shooting a sidelong glance at Sonic who gave a shrug that seemed to indicate mostly 'meh', but the black hedgehog was sorely reminded that this meant Sonic actually hadn't eaten for an entire day and night now.

"No, he hasn't," Knuckles confirmed, making to move out of the tent, "You should have seen him, didn't move an inch from your side as you slept," he said, ducking outside and leaving the two hedgehogs looking at each other, Shadow seeming a bit at a loss for words, and Sonic giving him a kind of awkward grin.

"Well, I did _once_," the blue hedgehog offered. "Everything else would have been unsanitary."

"...thank you," Shadow said again, more quietly than before, and couldn't help but feel a by now almost familiar warmth spread through him, different from Chaos Energy, much less tangible but just as valuable to him now...the knowledge that Sonic cared for him. Once again, Shadow almost caught himself marvelling at this feeling of being..._loved. _He actually hadn't expected to experience that ever again after Maria had died in front of his eyes.

But this was Sonic the Hedgehog, and as with almost everything he said about how he felt, Shadow did not doubt a single word, because when it was about the heart of the hero of Mobius, the blue speedster's actions had always proved his words a thousand times over. And if Sonic the Hedgehog loved you, if you were his friend, his brother, his partner, Shadow knew by now, it meant he would risk his life to save you, run faster than anyone else to catch you if you fell, would smile at you even when both of you were dying...

….and stay at your side all night when you were sick as a dog.

_And by now I would do that for him, too, _it whispered in Shadow's head, unbidden, but the black hedgehog could feel the words were true nonetheless. It was amazing, this new knowledge, this feeling that there was finally something, _someone_ in the world who suddenly made everything _matter. _Who made you want to make the world a better place.

_And who never seems to ask for anything in return but your sanity, _a small voice added in his head in a dead-pan, but Shadow ignored it.

Sonic was entirely willing to protect those he loved. Shadow could say the same, but unlike Sonic, he was also prepared to kill, if necessary. When he was with Sonic he also believed the world actually _could_ change, that it could be made better... but until then, he would stand as the quiet defender, protecting Sonic from those threats that struck from the deepest shadows, that which never stepped out into the sunlight. Deal with them in ways a hero could not. That was Shadow's place. And he embraced it. For Sonic.

He turned to the blue hedgehog once more, his former slave now framed in the few rays of late sunlight falling through the slit in the closed tent's entrance and found the speedster smiling at him, green eyes with just a hint of a glow that indicated Sonic might have just shared the exact same feelings.

Then their gazes met and the hero of Mobius whisked the tent flap open, golden sunlight washing over them both and Sonic's grin could have lit up the tent just as much when before them the world now stretched wide open.

"Alright, Shadow, let's _go_!"

xxx

"Go _where_?" Knuckles had raised his head from his hands sluggishly, looking at Tails with eyes that barely held hope now. Truth to tell, the young fox didn't look very confident himself, sharp teeth biting into his lower lip, and his big blue eyes cast down to the ground.

"Back to my workshop," Tails repeated his earlier words, but not with much enthusiasm. It was a dismal atmosphere on the Island of Angels, the three Mobians resting in the grass before the altar of the Master Emerald that apparently had turned into some sort of crystalline clown by now. "The only thing I can think of to prevent a total catastrophe now if we can't find the real one, is if I can maybe create an artificial seventh Chaos Emerald to keep things stable just a little while longer."

"You can do that?" Rouge looked at him, uncertain, but also with a hint of 'If-you-can-why-on-Mobius-haven't-you-done-it-_already_?' in her turquoise eyes. Tails looked to the side.

"I don't know. I did it once, but that was kind of a fluke. Sonic could use it to Chaos Control to safety when Eggman had shot him out of ARK in that capsule set to explode, but he said it broke almost immediately afterwards. I think the strain was too much for it."

"But if you can create one again, then we have just a little more time?" Knuckles asked, hoarsely. The kit nodded.

"Yeah," he said, although his voice sounded small. "But I don't know if I can really do it. And if I fail, we..." he didn't finish his sentence.

"If you fail, kid, we don't lose anything we haven't lost yet," Rouge said, picking herself up and flexing her wings briefly. The sun was beginning to set, and in the golden light there seemed to be a rare spark of something that could almost have qualified as affection in her usually so cold and calculating eyes. She looked down on the desolate fox kid, "Come on. Let's go home and you get to work. I know the resident big shots are currently out of their spiky minds, but hey, maybe if we show them what it truly means to be a hero, they might even remember it themselves?" she asked, and Tails looked up at her with large eyes.

What it meant...to be a hero...

They had been in situations like this before, Tails tried to bring himself to remember. Sonic had been away Chaos knew where and he'd been on his own, or, worse, he'd even thought his hedgehog brother had died before and left him all alone...

_But you didn't give up then, did you?_ A quiet, oddly calm voice in his head asked, unbidden. _Back then, you continued fighting. Ran through the jungle all the way to the Egg carrier when you had crashed and didn't know where Sonic was. Never stopped looking for him when he fell into the sea in Pirate Storm. And challenged Robotnik to a battle among the stars when you thought he had been killed. _

_Because..._

"...Sonic wouldn't give up. Right?" Tails finally said, and for the first time, his voice sounded a bit stronger and more secure than it had all day. His white-gloved small hand balled into a fist. "So I won't, either," he continued, and Knuckles thought that the same deeply buried fire that always seemed to have been burning somewhere behind Sonic's green eyes, the fire that seemed to have been all but extinguished by now since the previous hero of Mobius had turned into a shadow of his former self, that this same fire might just have briefly sparked up in the gaze of the youngest genius of Mobius...

"Alright," Tails said, appearing to try and pull himself together. "Rouge, I'll need the biggest and purest crystal of your collection. Knuckles, can you steer the Island straight over the Mystic Ruins? I f I can use the Chaos Energy of the Master Emerald and syphon it straight off..." Tails took a deep breath. "...we might just stand a chance."

"Well, normally that would be a no-go, kiddo, but I guess if it's about saving the world, I can make an exception," Rouge replied, giving a small, sharp-edged smile. Knuckles also nodded, and the two-tail seemed to definitely have perked up now, preparing to dash back to his plane to return to his home while the other two ran their respective errands.

"Okay! See you down at the workshop, I'll try and set things up!"

"Good work," Knuckles acknowledged, also standing up straight again as the two-tail had just jumped back into the seat of the bi-plane, the engines of the Tornado roaring barely seconds after.

"Thanks," Rouge replied, also watching the fox take off, "Let's just hope, then, that the whiz kid really can rig up something." She turned her head to look at Knuckles. "How much time left?"

The Guardian of Angel Island squinted at the setting sun. "About ten hours, I would say," he replied evenly, but then violet eyes met turquoise and Rouge could see a hint, just a hint of that indomitable hope and fighting spirit that seemed to inevitably touch everyone that had ever come into contact with the fastest thing alive. Knuckles gave her a small smirk.

"So let's make sure there _will_ be an eleventh one."

xxx

"Alright, alright, give me a minute..." Shadow took a few small, still not completely firm steps toward the tent entrance and crouched a little to let his upcurved head spikes pass through the gap in between the folds. Outside, he straightened and red eyes narrowed a bit as he surveyed the scene, the light of the campfire not far from the tent too bright for his optic nerves that had spent the day in the darkness of unconsciousness. Knuckles was waiting a few steps apart, silently surveying Shadow's movements, but not in a hostile manner.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Sonic asked, gesturing over the camp that stretched further than the black hedgehog could see, the campfire in front of him letting the darkness with more tents and echidnas behind it appear impenetrable.

"I...suppose," Shadow nodded. As far as he could tell, from sounds and smells and movements in the dark, this seemed to be less a tribe of a few stragglers but actually more something approaching an army; that probably at least meant that they should be safe from any surprise attacks during the night. The black hedgehog turned and addressed both Sonic and their echidna host. "Is there any water around here? I don't require any food, but I would like to drink and clean my wounds."

"Well, if you head straight into the forest behind the tent, you can get to a creek in less than ten minutes, they've all been getting water there," Sonic replied before Knuckles could, pointing to the line of trees that encircled their camp site. Shadow nodded.

"Alright. I'll be back soon, then," he said, preparing to leave, but a sound Sonic made let him stop briefly.

"Uh...do you maybe want me to come with you?" the collared hedgehog asked, looking at his supposed Master with a bit of a searching gaze. _Can I let you go anywhere by yourself yet?_ was the unspoken question that both of them had heard and Shadow could feel more than just the heat of the fire warming his cheeks.

"No, I'm fine. You go to the fire and get something to eat," he said, perhaps a bit more curtly than intended, his annoyance with his own embarrassing collapse earlier shining through his words meant for the other. Sonic could feel Knuckles' gaze on them, the echidna obviously watching how Sonic had just been given what must have appeared as a direct order and waited how he would react. Finally, Sonic inclinced his head the tiniest bit and held up his hands.

"Okay. See you soon, then," he said, giving Shadow a small grin before he turned around to step away and over to Knuckles. "Take care not to set the forest on fire with those skates of yours, kay?"

"I'll do my very best," Shadow replied dryly and also turned around to step into the darkness behind the campsite which soon swallowed his midnight form fully. In truth, though, he was actually more than content; Sonic had once again proved that he understood Shadow completely – the black hedgehog needed this, would have hated nothing more than for others to consider him as a _weakness,_ someone in need of assistance. But Sonic didn't – the blue hedgehog was not clingy, or needlessly worried, able to trust Shadow instead and radiating such an easy confidence while he did it, that the Ultimate Lifeform was actually able to reach the small stream still with a faint trace of a smile on his face.

xxx

The two Sapients that had watched him depart meanwhile were now on the way to the campfire, Knuckles still regarding Sonic a bit curiously.

"So...you both seem to have survived everything alright, then?" the echidna finally asked and Sonic shrugged.

"Eh, pretty much. Takes more than just one amateur execution to get rid of us," the collared hedgehog replied with a grin. "So far I've survived worse than this."

"Is that so," Knuckles said with an unreadable expression, his gaze still off-handedly wandering over Sonic as the blue hedgehog walked next to him. A walk...that seemed just a little bit too stiffly if you looked hard. The son of the Guardian raised a red eye ridge.

"In other words, your owner finally showed his true colours and took you, I assume?"

Next to him, Sonic choked. In the forest, Shadow briefly thought he might have just overheard a high-pitched '_What?_!' from his supposed pet, but convinced himself that those were by now probably early signs of a concussion or something.

"I mean, it's kind of obvious," Knuckles continued, and by now there was actually a hint of anger or maybe disdain riding on his words, the echidna coolly regarding the blue hedgehog that was currently staring at him, mortified. "In the tent, you couldn't even sit properly. Now you're walking like an invalid."

"I – er, Shadow, we, I mean, I- _how is that any of your business?_!"

Sonic could feel the heat rising in his cheeks immediately, completely unrelated to the fire still in the distance. His face was probably flushed by now and the collared hero was actually very thankful that the reddish light of the flames was at least also hiding the even more embarrassing blush. Ooooh, was someone going to pay for this...

"It is my business because he hurt you and I care about comrades in battle," Knuckles continued evenly, "I was pretty sure he'd so far treated you well since you did even return to him willingly after we met you in the slave hunter camp, but now that he's actually...making use of you..." the echidna let the words hang in the air for a second - "...I'm wondering whether you've seen what your choice to remain his slave really means," Knuckles said, his eyes briefly lingering on the collar still securely closed around Sonic's neck, the echidna's contempt now barely veiled anymore; not for Sonic personally, but rather for the idea of _anyone_ letting themselves be treated like property without resistance. Sonic suspected that the notion alone was probably inconceivable to all the members of the proud echidna tribe. Night had fallen quick and proper by now and the new darkness was throwing the face of Knuckles into hard lines.

"I know you might _think_ that he owns you, especially after...this, but-"

"Willyoupleasefortheloveof_CHAOS_shutup."

"What?" now it was Knuckles' turn to look a bit taken aback, staring at the cringing form of Sonic, who currently had his face hidden in hands. "What did you just mumble?"

"Nothing," Sonic croaked, straightening up and obviously trying to get a grip on himself again.

"Okay, again, this is SO none of your business," he began, words underlined with a certain degree of frustration of having been in this position of no rights, no privacy and nothing but either cruelty or pity for a week now and Knuckles having the grace to again point this out for him-

"Even if I suppose your concern means this is at least somewhat coming from the right place -" the blue hedgehog added seemingly reluctantly, before his annoyance returned again in full,

"But, _firstly - _and I can't _believe_ I'm saying this- Shadow did nothing I didn't want him to-"

"Yeah, that's what you think _now_, but being in your state does things to your mind-" Knuckles tried to interject, but Sonic wouldn't have it,

" - secondly, I friggin _asked_ him to do it in the first place -"

"But-"

"Thirdly, if you call me an invalid again, I'm going to tie your tail to your snout and kick you down the next ravine, and _lastly_", Sonic said, now having advanced close enough to a surprised Knuckles who was staring at him slightly speechlessly at this point, one white-gloved finger of Sonic's viciously delivering a stab at the ivory crescent fur on the echidna's chest, "Lastly, it was _DAMN GOOD, _OKAY_?_!"

Knuckles gave a very quick, very wide-eyed nod.

Sonic held eye-contact a second longer before finally taking a step back and lowering his arm, the little explosion seemingly over. The blue hedgehog crossed his arms and looked away.

"I just don't get why everyone in this goddamn dimension has a problem with just leaving us the hell alone, for Chaos's sake..." the words were grumbled under Sonic's breath, but Knuckles probably wouldn't even have needed to hear them to understand their intent.

"...I see," the echidna finally said, also collecting himself now. "I...suppose I apologize if I have offended you. Again," he offered, not quite meeting Sonic's gaze, but one could see how some tension escaped from the raised quills and tense shoulders of the collared hedgehog. Sonic sighed, letting his arms fall away from his chest and using one of them to briefly rub the back of his head, eyes closed and his face showing signs of a brief struggle to overcome his frustration, but when he looked at Knuckles again, the emerald gaze was definitely calmer.

"Okay. Accepted. Just don't...just forget about that whole topic, okay?"

"...I'll try," the echidna said with some hesitation, but Sonic could tell he was struggling. "It's just...I don't _understand_ it. Not at all."

Sonic raised an eye ridge, settling one hand on his hip. "What, 'cause we're both guys?"

"No, that's not it," Knuckles waved a hand in irritation, "Just like in nature, in our tribe we have all kinds of bonds. I just don't understand...how can you _willingly _be his mate when he effectively _acquired_ you at your first meeting and then simply..._kept_ you?" the echidna asked, his tone now honestly bewildered. "No warrior I know would ever suffer this fate without coming to despise their captor."

Sonic ran a hand through his quills, again wishing this entire situation hadn't even come up. He didn't even know the answer to that question - Shadow had never bought him and Sonic had never been 'kept', so how on Mobius was he supposed reply? He had no idea how he would have dealt with someone purchasing him for _real,_ no matter the identity or behaviour of the buyer - well, apart from getting his revenge on that disgusting monkey who had _tried _to, anyway. Finally, Sonic gave an exasperated sigh.

"Look, would it make you happier if I borrowed a knife right now and got rid of my collar?"

"That's got nothing to do with it," Knuckles shook his head, "We've seen you wear it without minding, so getting rid of it now would be meaningless. Especially if you would still stay with your owner."

Sonic shot him a sideward glance, one heel of his hand pressed against his left eye, the other one focusing on Knuckles. "Yeah. I'd appreciate you not calling him that."

Knuckles raised an eye ridge. "So you _do_ mind belonging to him?"

"I – no, I, well, yes, technically, but see-" the blue hedgehog was trying to form a response, but when it didn't seem to become anything very coherent, finally settled for a frustrated groan and a hand running over his face. Somewhat weary green eyes focused on Knuckles again.

"...look, it's a long story. A _very_ long story. And if I told you, all you'd probably ask me is 'What do you _mean, _a space station lizard?' or something. So can we just settle it with the fact that a) it's complicated, b) I'm not _really_ owned by him and never was, but that he and I...kinda go back a long way by now," Sonic finished, and let see what was perhaps the first real smile on his face since this conversation had started, but he also wasn't looking at Knuckles any more. The blue hero had turned his head at his last words, and the son of the Guardian thought that perhaps the hedgehog was looking at something only he could see now, because there was a certain shine in his eyes, Sonic for some reason raising his face to the sky when he was mentioning his and the dark hedgehog's shared past together, just briefly his gaze lost among the stars.

There was a moment of silence as Knuckles was taking in the information and seemed to think about it, Sonic's eyes eventually travelling back from pictures of the past, two shining forms fighting for their planet in a black void blazing in his memories. He blinked when Knuckles finally spoke again.

"...alright. I've got to admit I _still_ don't completely understand what your relationship is exactly, but I guess I misjudged some details previously. If you say you're not his property, I have no reason yet not to trust your word," the echidna said, before indicating the campfire in a hundred metres' distance again that they had originally been walking toward, more fierce-looking fire- and blood-coloured members of the tribe sitting around it and Knuckles gave Sonic a slightly worrying glance. "Now let's just hope _everyone else_ sees it the same way..."

But Sonic wasn't even listening anymore, because, just briefly in the shadows, he thought he might have seen a small lithe silhouette, and it had two tails trailing behind.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Hi everyone! :DGlad to see you're still here, even though this chapter was mostly set-up, hope it still entertained a little^^ Japan continues to be crazy, with me bouncing back and forth between Osaka and Tokyo, while trying to get (hahah!) some Kanji studying done. :P Still missing some decent German bread like crazy, though, there's something to be said for Europe. ;) I know the fanart links on the profile are broken, btw, but I'll try to get it fixed soon, atm flummoxed why inserting links doesn't work o.O - thanks to everyone for pointing it out and thanks even more if you know how to insert them again! :) which would be important, because there's AWESOME new fanart and even a soundtrack with mock CD cover for the fic now. :P And now, if you read, please review!


	51. A Band of Brothers

Hi there! Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it? Well, I'll explain some if you're interested after this chapter is over, but if you're still reading, hope you have fun with this one :D

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**ON TO THE FIC!**

**xxx  
**

Note: Sonic and Shads are at the echidna camp, so there's some echidna characters appearing in this chapter, but none of them are OCs, so that means you can picture google all of them, if you want to know how they look and my descriptions aren't sufficient! :P

**Chapter 51: A Band of Brothers**

It was dark and lightless in the unfamiliar woods Shadow strode through on his search for a creek, and the only things he could hear were his own breath and sometimes cracks and rustling from behind the trees, noises that could be anything penetrating the night air where moonlight could no longer reach. But he was Shadow the Hedgehog, and the Ultimate Lifeform's walk was the stride of someone who knew that the night held untold terrors, and also that he was usually the one causing them.

It was then that he walked into a cactus.

xxx

"..did you just hear anything?"

"No. Why?"

"Nothing..."

Sonic and Knuckles meanwhile were striding towards the campfire, and the hedgehog got a better look at people seated there. They were four in total, all echidnas, although differing quite a bit in age, clothing and demeanour. They sat around the fire on logs in a circle, and Sonic thought that the two closest to him were obviously female, their dreadlocks a bit longer and thinner than the males' and one of them wearing a dress. It was actually the first time he had been able to look at a girl of Knuckles' species properly and tried not to stare – or feel a bit of pity for his friend at home who would never be able to see this scene, remaining the last of his race as a lonely Guardian in the sky.

"Alright. Sit down, I'll get some food," the Knuckles of this dimension said, stepping away and leaving Sonic at the edge of the circle a bit surprised. The other echidnas had looked up at their approach and were now staring at him with unreadable faces, letting Sonic swallow inadvertedly and remember what Knuckles had said about the tribe's stance on slavery. Still, lack of confidence had never been Sonic's problem. Even with a collar around his neck that supposedly denoted him as Shadow's property, he walked up boldly to a gap in the circle, stopping at the edge of the fire.

"Hi!" he said brightly, nodding toward his audience with a grin, "I'm the guy that came here this morning. Sonic's the name and speed's my game, nice to meetcha!"

The response was...slightly underwhelming.

One of the two younger echidnas' glances turned suspicious the moment he had opened his mouth and it didn't get much better from there. One of them was definitely a warrior, his fur bright red like Knuckles' and in age probably about the same, just missing the white crescent mark across his chest. Currently he seemed to be trying to scorch Sonic on the spot with his glare, fingers sliding not-that-subtly over the curved blade hung at his belt. The blue hedgehog raised an eye ridge at the thinly-veiled threat, yet refrained from pointing out that it probably would look more impressive if the red-furred face of the other didn't have small black spots all over it, making it look as if Sonic was being menacingly stared at by a case of seriously angry acne.

_Hoooh boy. _

The other male did not move at all, and Sonic was wondering whether this meant the guy was already dead. Well, almost, anyway. To the seventeen-year-old hedgehog, the second warrior (was he a warrior?) looked _ancient_, coat a dark rust-colour like blood that had been spilled a long time ago, battered iron rings encasing some of his dreadlocks and reflecting the fire on a surface that seemed to have been scratched by countless blades in countless battles. Bushy eyebrows were as grey as the beard below his chin, and the gaze from dark violet eyes, while not as hostile as the other's had been, simply seemed to tell Sonic that he had already seen things more interesting to him than the blue hedgehog, and those included everyday rocks. Now it passed over him like a dim searchlight, didn't even bother to meet his eyes, and then the elder was already staring into the fire again, mumbling without seeming to have acknowledged Sonic at all.

_Chaos. Whiff of a graveyard stare there, gramps. Well, at least he didn't try and hit me with a cane or something..._

Sonic turned his head to the right to see whether the two females might be any more welcoming, but was immediately met by _another _stare of cold disdain, this one wielded by a girl who looked about the same age as Rouge, bright orange fur contrasting with form-fitting black leather arnour, purple eyes piercing with a sharpness he remembered from when he had been captured by the echidna tribe for the first time, back in the slave camp. She had been a charmer back then already, hadn't she...

Sonic sighed, feeling a little deflated. This wasn't the kind of welcome he'd been hoping for, but had considered possible. Well, it still beat his arrival in the castle, where he'd been greeted with a whip meeting his behind. He looked at Knuckles returning with some meat on two sticks, but the echidna just gave him a shrug as if to say, 'you're on your own'. Although he did hand Sonic one of the shish kebabs, which the hedgehog had to admit was better than nothing.

"The blessings of this flame be upon our guest."

It was the last of the four echidnas who had spoken, and Sonic's eye ridges rose a little at the unexpectedly friendly tone and melodious voice. She seemed slightly older than her orange-furred companion, her coat a brownish-red with white bands woven throughout her dreadlocks and short locks of brown hair curling down at the sides of her head. Contrary to the martial get-up of the rest, she was wearing a dress made from yellow fabric that had a more elaborate air about it than you might expect from a warrior. Sonic wondered whether she might be some village elder or something. Soft, pastel green eyes now regarded him warmly and she nodded at him, motioning for him to sit.

The blue hero was about to do, but halted as the younger of the males stood up abruptly and the collared hedgehog realised he was almost as solidly built as Knuckles was.

"Lara-Le!" he said sharply, "The sacred blessings are not for such as him!"

The slightly older female gazed serenely at him, "The blessings of the spirit are mine to give, that is my right as a shaman," she said, before adding, "Also, if you dare talk to me like that again, I'm going to cut your quills and eat them raw", her tone just a tiny bit different from the ceremonial speech before. Sonic made a mental note that he was very glad she seemed to be friendly toward him.

The male warrior, however, seemed to have no such survival instincts. "His spirit is broken," he spat again, "He enjoys his captivity. There is nothing in him worth blessing!"

Now Sonic bristled, getting royally sick of everyone's blind assumptions about him and wondering whether to suggest that if people didn't shut up about his 'broken spirit'_, _hewould start breaking _things_, but Knuckles beat him to it.

"Rutan! Watch your tongue, he is a guest here and will be treated with respect!"

"He doesn't respect himself; why should I?"

"Yo, how about talking to me first? I _can_ hear you, you know?" Sonic was trying hard not to sound too aggressive now, but the echidna called Rutan was getting on his (already frayed) nerves. The young warrior gave him a condescending glance but somehow still managed to miss looking Sonic in the eyes.

"I don't talk to _pets,_" he said, coating the last word in an amount of poison that probably would have been enough to kill most domesticated animals. Sonic was distinctively unimpressed.

"Dude, I've got friends who talk to _plants_. Get that high-and-mighty warrior codex unlodged from wherever someone stuck it up you."

The collared hedgehog was pleased that for the first time the other finally met his glance, even though the emotions in those purple-grey eyes seemed now to sway between astonished disbelief and murderous rage directed toward all hedgehogs of this universe. Sonic, accustomed to glances like that leveled at him almost daily, shrugged and instead made to sit down on one of the logs, intending to roast the meat on his stick. But perhaps it was because he was tired and hungry, or maybe because he really hadn't expected the other to go that far, but when Rutan's hand shot forward and closed around his collar with unmistakeable echidna strength, the hero of Mobius just had been a second too late to evade the grip.

"_Don't you dare sit where free people do!_"

Sonic's cry was cut off and turned into a choke when the leather of the collar dug into his throat, the other forcefully wrenching him off the log backwards and flinging him onto the ground. Sonic's face briefly screwed up in pain as his rear slammed into the bare earth, (and the blue hedgehog had to force himself to ignore Knuckles' knowing look...) But at least the echidna had the grace not to comment and, indeed, recovered rather quickly and instead turned on the offender.

"Rutan, you will stop this now! You are a disgrace to our tribe!" he barked, although he seemed to be the only one worked up. The elder sitting at the fire still appeared to be paying zero attention to anything going on, while the orange-furred female clearly was, but while her silently observing gaze expressed some cool interest, it didn't seem like she was inclined to interfere. The one who had been called Lara-Le and at least greeted Sonic in a friendly way _did_ seem like she was going to say something, but Rutan was faster.

"The one who disrespects the laws of the tribe is _you_, son of the Guardian. We don't invite scum to share our fire," the echidna snarled, making an offhanded gesture at Sonic to indicate crystal-clearly at whom the insult was aimed. The hedgehog on the ground made to get up, but then saw the kebab that had fallen out of his hand when he had been tossed. The formerly dark red meat was now almost unrecognizable, covered in dirt. Sonic stood up.

"You know what? Don't bother. I think I've lost my appetite."

"I don't care about your appetite. In times of war, pets starve," Rutan scathed but Sonic ignored him and instead handed the sand-coated meat skewer back to Knuckles.

"You mean well, bud, but unless that idiot doesn't take back what he said or drags his sorry ass outta here _pronto_, I think I'd rather go for a run than stay."

"Yeah, run away to your master and cry at his feet where you belo-" the other warrior began again, intent on cutting across Sonic, but then there was a rush of wind followed by a sudden _thud!_, and within the blink of an eye the echidna was lying on the ground, purple-grey eyes wide and shocked, staring at Sonic somehow standing above him now. The hedgehog dusted off his hands.

"These are times of war, was that what you said?" he asked, and while there was still anger in his voice, it was controlled now and the hedgehog's tone somehow managed to convey that this was because the other wasn't even worth more than that, "Well then, listen, because tomorrow, I'm going to defeat the guy who's been forcing you into that war, and who's had your kids enslaved and your prince kidnapped, while you, tough guy, couldn't do a damn thing to stop him," Sonic said, green eyes blazing like a hidden blade suddenly unsheathed in bright sunlight, "and _that's_ why when I'm going to stamp his ugly mug into the dirt tomorrow, as an added bonus I'm going to do it just to spite _you_."

And with that, before anyone could say anything, the hero of Mobius had already vanished, the night swallowing him almost as quickly as the noise of his footsteps.

"Well, done, Rutan," Lara-Le commented dryly in the silence that followed and indicated the dirty kebab in Knuckles' hands. "You just earned yourself a sandy dinner."

xxx

The cool night air rushing past Sonic's face wasn't the most effective way to cool the anger the collared hero could still feel burning inside himself, but it helped a little.

_Definitely better than staying in_ _that douche's company in any case, _the blue hedgehog thought, expertly weaving around a bunch of trees even in the dark. Above him the moon was shining, a navigational tool that would help him find his way back at some point even as he was running underneath unfamiliar stars.

_Chaos, did I want to punch that guy._

Sonic tried to shake his head to clear it. He was angry at the echidna warrior as well as angry at himself for _permitting_ the other to rile him up.

_You'd think that after a week of this treatment I would have gotten used to it,_ a dry voice in his head supplied. After all, he had managed to suffer more or less silently until now rather well. Because Sonic knew he wouldn't be able to change everyone's minds about slavery over night...

..._even if I'll be damned if I'm not gonna try._

Should he have picked a proper fight with the echidna, then? Challenged him to an actual one-on-one brawl instead of simply flooring him with superior speed? It had felt satisfying in the moment it happened, but now the hedgehog was almost wishing he hadn't restrained himself and actually left at least a couple of bruises on the other...

_And then maybe regretted it in the morning when the idiot went and got himself killed in the __actual__ battle with Black Doom's soldiers because he couldn't defend himself properly. _

Sonic growled in his throat at his own logic he didn't like and tried to remind himself of what mattered so much more instead.

He didn't need to hurt others to feel free. He just needed to _run_.

This, the ground blurred underneath his feet, fresh air being sucked into his lungs, no shackles around his ankles, no leash tied to his neck, all of his muscles moving only at his command, his body belonging to him and no one else, this was he wanted, loved, needed..._wait. _Sonic screeched to a halt.

What he _really _wanted_..._

xxx

Shadow arrived back at the campsite, a certain cactus now Chaos-Speared out of existence, and he hoped he had at least gotten all the prickles out of his fur now, even if it had taken a while. He raised a questioning eye ridge as his gaze found the camp fire Knuckles had wanted to take Sonic to, because while the red echidna was certainly sitting there, Sonic was not. Shadow stepped out of the darkness and into the light of the fire, nodding a wary greeting to his hosts he didn't know yet very well. He didn't know why, but the atmosphere at the fire seemed more than subdued, no one speaking a word and one young echidna warrior for some strange reason trying to eat meat on a stick that was full of dirt. Shadow wondered briefly if the situation with supplies was maybe worse than he had thought.

"Good evening. Thank you for giving us shelter for the day," Shadow said in what sounded to him like an odd mixture of diplomacy that might have been expected of the Prince of Black Doom's kingdom, and a politeness Maria had tried to drill into him a long time ago.

"Good evening, Prince Shadow," one of the females replied and her tone was friendly. „May the blessings of this flame be upon you. I'm afraid your...companion left us before you could join," she added with a slightly pained smile. "He's been gone for a while now, actually..."

Shadow's eye ridges turned into a slight frown.

"You mean he ran off again?"

"Well, he certainly took off faster than I could follow him, that's for sure," Knuckles answered, „but I can't blame him for it," he then added seemingly reluctantly, "One of our tribe behaved in a...less than welcoming manner toward him because of his -" Knuckles waved a hand "...status."

"Your slave seemed fed up with it at some point and floored him, though," the other orange-furred female added with barely concealed amusement, ignoring the growl that elicited from the younger male warrior.

Shadow nodded. "Yes, that does sound like him," he said, and for Knuckles it was hard to tell whether the undertone in his voice was actually resignation or pride. "I expect he'll be back at some point. Do you mind if I wait here for him?" he asked the group at large, and when no objections were voiced, sat down on the log Knuckles indicated for him, his body annoyingly still grateful for the continued rest.

"Would you like some food, Prince Shadow?"

"No, thank you," the black hedgehog replied with a polite nod toward the female in the yellow dress who had greeted him in the first place. "Also, just 'Shadow' is fine. I think I may have lost the royal title when my father tried to execute me," he added dryly and was rewarded with a snort from the son of the Guardian next to him and an amused twitching of the lips from the second girl by the fire, her orange dreadlocks with the white zig-zag print on them stiffly tied back with a black headband letting her appear half like a hedgehog herself. "May I ask your name?"

"Certainly. I'm Lara-Le and the shaman of the tribe," replied the older female, before gesturing to the others. "This is my companion Shade, who will be leading one of our factions into battle tomorrow," she said, her hand briefly brushing the shoulder of the orange-furred girl next to her, "He is one of our elders and called Sabre," she continued, indicating the old echidna who hadn't yet said a word but had a face that spoke of a life filled with more stories than you would ever be able to tell, "and this is Rutan, who, sadly, is also responsible for your slave leaving us earlier."

"No big loss," the young male grumbled, before actually turning to Shadow and asking the black hedgehog directly, "And I don't get you slave owners, either. Why do you even want such a pitiful part-I mean, _a partner so much lower in status than you_?" he asked, obviously only reluctantly changing his wording when Lara-Le had very subtly coughed and Knuckles had ever so casually stood up, a firewood axe in hand as if it were there by accident.

Shadow's reply was calm as ever. "There's a few reasons. One of them is that he could defeat you with both hands tied and a blindfold."

"Oh, and I _bet_ you would know what that prettyboy of yours could do with both hands tied and a blindfold, riiiight...?"

Heads turned at the sudden new voice while Knuckles had erupted into a violent coughing fit and Shadow's features appeared just a bit frozen into place, staring at the new arrival. It was the shaman's voice that broke the silence, but her exclamation of "Lara-Su! Will you _behave _yourself!" only let the echidna girl that had uttered the words break into an even brighter grin and a giggle.

"Hey, just saying what everyone's thinking!" the new girl laughed and walked closer, letting herself drop down on a log next to Shadow's, unbidden.

"Hi, I'm Lara-Su!" she said to him. "You _are_ the guy who owns the blue hunk-hog, right?"

"_What_," Shadow managed, still not quite able to compute what exactly was happening and whether she possibly could have said what she just did, while Knuckles next to him had briefly looked about as scarlet in his face as the rest of his fur, but now rose and cracked his namesakes.

"Okay, that's it. Will everyone please excuse me for a moment while I strangle my idiot sister?"

"Woah, hey! You try and you die, you overgrown puggle!" the girl called out again, backflipping off the log backwards and drawing two short swords hanging at her belt, crouching in a ready-stance in the shadows just outside the fire. Shadow briefly looked around whether anyone else seemed to be taking note of the fratricidal tendencies around here, but scarcely any of the warriors appeared to care. The black hedgehog was about to say something, but then his mouth dropped open when within fractions of a second, the two swords had actually burst into flames, and their emerald colour was a hue he would never have been able to mistake.

"_Chaos_," he gasped, which went unheard as the shaman cut across all three of them,

"Knuckles! Lara-Su! _Stop that nonsense and sit down this instant_!"

And then, Shadow thought, things couldn't possibly have gotten any more bizarre when both of the fighting echidnas seemed to react to her voice immediately and in unison, withdrawing from their battle-ready stances and then finally uttered in perfect synchronization:

"_Yes, Mom_."

xxx

It was a little bit earlier when Sonic had arrived at the outer edge of the echidna camp again in a heartbeat, and was now stalking through the darkness to search for one particular silhouette. There were some unfriendly stares from echidnas who noticed him, but the hero of Mobius had learned how to melt into the shadows, how to tread quietly and turn speed into invisibility on countless missions in enemy bases and dangerous territories, and most of the time could easily slip past unnoticed. Until he had found his unsuspecting prey, that was, and finally decided to step into the light.

"Hi there, kiddo! Miss me?"

Sonic knew Tails at home could make large eyes, but this younger, thinner version of him was now serious competition. The two-tail had been sitting at a small campfire alone, doodling in the dirt, but now he was looking up at the blue hedgehog who had suddenly appeared in the shine of the fire and his little jaw dropped open.

"S-s-Sonic?" he stammered in what was almost certainly an entirely involuntary imitation of a certain lizard's way of speech and the addressed hedgehog only grinned broader.

"The one and only!" he said, thumbing his own chest with pride. He spread his arms. "Come on, don't I get a hug?"

"You're...you're alive..." a slow, disbelieving smile spread hesitantly over the still overwhelmed two-tail's face, but the younger one made no attempt to fling himself into the hedgehog's spread arms, as Sonic knew his own kid fox at home would have done in a heartbeat. It sharply reminded the hedgehog again that even though he looked so much like him, _was_ him in some respects, this kit was still someone different from his best friend, and to him, Sonic was only a friendly stranger he had met not even three days ago. The hedgehog let his bright grin shift into a more gentle smile. His arms dropped to his sides again and instead he walked slowly up to the younger one, squatting down beside him, now actually a bit amused at the undisguised amazement on the little fox' face. This Tails wasn't yet used to what Sonic could accomplish, had never seen him in action...

"Sure am," Sonic said therefore, one hand slowly, non-threateningly reaching out to ruffle the golden fur on the kit's head gently. "Don't ya worry about me, kiddo, I always pull through."

"I –I thought I'd never see you again, not never," Tails managed, sky blue eyes still wide as power rings, and Sonic painfully realized that in this world when slaves were separated it probably was actually _really_ unlikely that they'd see each other again while alive...but then that only steeled his resolve that by tomorrow, he and Shadow would end this suffering, for Tails and for everyone. Being careful not to show any of that boiling fury to the fox kit, Sonic just settled himself down next to him and gave him a friendly wink.

"What can I say, I'm a guy full of surprises," he quipped, and then was actually surprised himself by a gesture of Tails-like affection after all, when the little fox timidly reached out and hugged Sonic's knees.

"I'm glad that you're here," the fox kid whispered, as if still afraid anyone would overhear them talking about something forbidden.

Sonic grinned. "Likewise, squirt."

"But..." and here Tails' muzzle turned into a sad face, and sky blue eyes filled with worry again as they focused on the band around Sonic's neck. "You're...you're still a slave. You've not been set free by the Prince like me."

The blue hedgehog shook his head. "Nah, don't sweat it, it's fine. I like being together with Shadow, remember?" he asked, cocking his head with a smile. "'sides, if I wasn't free to go where I wanted anyway, how do you think I could've come to see you tonight?" he added and now Tails appeared possibly even more disbelieving than earlier.

"You came to see _me?_"

"You're my little buddy, of course I wanted to know whether you were doing okay," Sonic protested good-naturedly, and when the small fox' face lit up with the pure amazement and stunned happiness that someone cared for _him, _had come to see _him, _the hero of Mobius now knew definitely that the trip to the tribe had been _worth_ it.

"Kuckles' pals treating you alright?"

Yeah...I guess," Tails replied, rubbing his nose a little. "Some of them are nice. Some are a bit...rough," he said, but then looked up again with a small smile. "But it's a _lot_ nicer than being with my old Master before Prince Shadow bought me."

"Good to hear," Sonic nodded and meant it. "Just don't ever forget that no-one has the right to treat you like a slave anym-"

The statement had been good in intention, but unfortunately was slightly undermined in its effect when suddenly a hand landed on Sonic's head as he spoke, ruffled his fur vigorously and at the same time a voice much too enthusiastic at this time of night proclaimed cheerfully:

"Oh heyyyyyy, the hedgehog pet!"

"What-?!" Sonic's head whipped around, eyes wide, staring at the grinning echidna girl who either never seemed to have heard of the concept of 'personal space' or else _had_ heard of it but had decided that in _her _case, her 'personal space' simply included the rest of the known universe.

"You're the blue spiky cutie the Prince brought with him," the female continued happily, making Sonic wonder whether they were having a competition for who got to be the new captain of the HMS Obvious, "And wait," She continued, a thoughtful hand to her lips, "I also know the name he's given you, it was...Sonnet, right? Or Sony?" now she looked a bit confused.

"It's _Sonic_, thanks," the hedgehog replied a bit dryly. "Also, I chose that name myself. Chaos knows if Shadow had gotten the chance to name me, I'd probably be called 'Maria' or something. Or Mario. And _that_ would probably be worse, not to mention a nightmare for copyright..._anyway_, and who are you?"

"Name's Lara-Su, nice to meet you," the echidna girl answered easily, even if she had seemed puzzled at Sonic's monologue. "You making friends with Tails?" she asked curiously, nodding to the fox kid, who was regarding her with a mixture of friendliness and terror that to Sonic seemed oddly appropriate.

"Yup," Sonic replied, "Me and Shadow both wanted to have him out of the way of the war, so I just wanted to make sure he's alright. Seems fine so far," the blue hedgehog replied not unfriendly and his appreciation for the girl rose a bit when she enthusiastically agreed.

"Oooh, so it was your decision as well to bring him here? He's been adapting real well until now," she said, adding "He's a great kid," which made Tails promptly look at the floor and start fiddling with his namesakes but Sonic could feel the bashful pride rolling off the kit like waves.

"I'll say," the blue hedgehog chimed in, "And hey, I don't know what kind of standing you have in the tribe, but after all this is over, think you can find someone to teach him to read and write and stuff? Can't say for sure yet, but I have a feeling he probably really likes building stuff, too. Oh, and he can fly."

"Huh?"

"I _can_?"

The questions now came from both individuals, looking surprised and Sonic jabbed a thumb at the twin tails. "Seriously. He moves those tails like a helicopter and takes off."

Lara-Su frowned. "But that...doesn't make _any_ sense."

Sonic shrugged. "You're telling me_. _But it works, just you wait."

Lara-Su gave him a slightly bemused smile, but fortunately she also seemed to be someone who would accept things at face value as long as there wasn't any obvious reason for skepticism.

"Alright, if you say so," she agreed with a bit of puzzlement, "But he's part of the Tribe, now. We'd teach him all we can anyway." The echidna girl smiled again, intrigued now. "I guess you've known him for a while, then?"

"Only for a couple of days," Sonic smiled. "But tell you what, sometimes it seems like a lot longer to me..."

"Huh. You're some funny kinda guy, you know that?" Lara-Su asked, shaking her head a little, dreadlocks swaying. "I can see why tall, dark and stripesome wanted to keep you especially."

"Hey, who's to say _I'm _not the one deciding to stay with _him_?" Sonic shot back, giving the surprised girl a cocky grin, before she laughed again and stood up.

"Alright then, you're obviously a guy in demand," she said, "I'll better go back and see how my big brother is doing, but I guess I'll see you around later!" she said, standing up and giving a loose salute with two fingers to the both of them before vanishing into the darkness between the fires with a light jog, leaving Sonic and Tails both staring after her swaying dreadlocks and pony tail.

"Right..." the blue hedgehog said slowly, before again looking down at the fox kit beside him, shaking his head and giving a small smile. "I guess you're in good hands, then, li'l buddy. Though I have to wonder why you're still here," he added in a more questioning tone as if that had suddenly occurred to him, "Shadow said Knuckles had told him that in the echidna tribe someone would take the kids away to some place safe so they couldn't be killed in the war?"

"Yeah, that's true," Tails replied with a nod and a little yawn. "And that's also why I have to stay awake. They said we'd leave soon, when it's dark and no one will be able to see us," he explained. "Some of the other puggles are actually angry that we'll have to leave because they wanna stay and fight, but..." and here the two-tail actually looked at the floor and continued in a much tinier voice, "I'm...I'm kinda glad they won't let us stay here for the war. I think it might be really scary."

Sonic had to suppress a snort at this understatement of the century, but instead only put a hand on Tails' shoulder.

"Hey, no need to be ashamed for thinking that, li'l buddy, that's common sense! I'm glad you'll be safe. Also, I'm probably lucky that I managed to catch you before you left, huh?"

"I...I think maybe _I'm_ lucky that you found me..." the little fox at this point managed in a tiny voice, wide eyes again blinking up at Sonic gratefully with his newly-found, shy smile that immediately let Sonic feel that tomorrow he _would_ win this war, if only for Tails to never, ever have a reason to lose that smile again.

"Let's settle for that we're both the lucky ones, right, squirt?" he asked, slinging a companionable arm across the thin kit's shoulders and could feel his own body relax instinctively as the smaller form curled up a little in his side, and the collared hero could remember nights like this, sitting at the fire, when his own little brother had still been smaller and about that size and still likely to fall asleep against him...

"Okay," Tails agreed at this point, also a bit sleepy now, but then made an effort to twist his head up again and ask, a little bit nervously:

"But...I don't even get _why_ you picked me. I mean...there were lots of slave kits at that market..."

"And I wish I could have freed all of them right there, kiddo," Sonic sighed, staring at the stars overhead. "But hopefully that will come afterwards, when we show Black Doom that he picked the wrong hedgehogs to mess with – again, actually," Sonic added, even if more as an aside to himself. Looking down at Tails again, he said, "But I wanted to help you especially because..." _because_ _you're my little brother, _"...because you reminded me of someone back home."

"Oh," Tails replied sleepily, seemingly satisfied with that explanation. "Was he someone you knew before the slavers took you?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Sonic replied, again thinking about how he'd only actually been 'enslaved' last Thursday, but Tails didn't need to know that, and also didn't enquire further. Instead, he just asked,

"So...what did you and him do together, then?"

"Well..." and here Sonic actually turned a bit around so he was facing the kit and Tails blinked a bit in surprise when once again, Sonic's expression had lit up and green eyes were shining brighter than any flames that could have been reflected in them. "_Actually, _me and my buddy that looked like you back home, we had all sorts of adventures," the blue hedgehog grinned.

"...wanna hear some awesome stories?"

xxx

_In retrospect_, Shadow mused, _this was actually pretty obvious_. Now that everyone was sitting again and he could look at the new girl – Lara-Su – properly, he was able to see that while she seemed a tad younger than Knuckles, probably not older than 15, she had the same shade of blood-red fur as the son of the Guardian, and also the same white crescent mark emblazoned across her chest. And even if her features looked slightly slimmer and more feminine than her older brother's, face framed by long, dark red hair coming down at the sides of her face and tied up in a braided ponytail coming down to her tailbone, there was no mistaking the family resemblance. As seemed to be a not-so-rare custom with echidna females, apart from boots and leather gloves, she also wasn't wearing anything but a black vest and a belt, the two curved swords dangling down at her hips.

"I must apologize for my sibling's behaviour," Knuckles was currently grinding out between his teeth. "As a puggle, she was dropped on her head a lot."

"Oy, most of that was _you_ trying to give me noogies, as far as I can remember," his sister replied coolly, not taking her eyes of one of her blades she had unsheathed and now held in her hand, inspecting it as if to see whether it needed more sharpening.

"It's fine," Shadow said, not wishing to be drawn into the sibling squabble and privately wondering whether Sonic had decided to run to the south pole to cool down or what was taking the hedgehog so long. To distract himself, he pointed toward the sword in Lara-Su's hand.

"That was a Chaos Energy technique you were about to use just now, wasn't it?"

"You know about Chaos power?" the echidna girl raised an eye ridge.

Shadow shrugged. _Probably more than you._ Aloud, he lied, "There were books. I studied them."

"Huh. Fancy that," Lara-Su replied, sheathing her sword again and turning to Shadow. "Well, since you ask, yeah. As a daughter of the Guardian, I have a grasp of Chaos magic. And even though my brother's born first and therefore the official next Guardian, he's actually pretty pissed that I'm better at it than him," she grinned, pointedly ignoring the indignant huffing noise said older brother made at Shadow's other side.

"Talk to me again when you've grown some knuclaws, tadpole," he grumbled and Shadow noticed that indeed, the girl that was so much like her brother in other ways seemed to be missing the signature spikes on the back of her hands. Now, even though her violet eyes had blazed at the barb, she stuck out her tongue.

"Don't need no fancy knuclaws to whip your tail, big bro," she retorted and the black hedgehog now privately wondered whether if this girl and Sonic ever for some reason got into a fight, the two would likely trash-talk each other into exhaustion long before any actual violence would ever take place.

Before he could get too lost in his own thoughts, though, Lara-Su's voice had already snapped him back into reality again, the echidna girl apparently also as talkative as a certain blue hedgehog in general.

"Sooo...when you said that earlier. About your blue boy actually being a big fighter," she began, at the same time inclining her head to the side and trying to tear off a particularly tough piece of meat from her skewer. "Was that actually true? You can answer honestly now, you know. Rutan's gone," she said, indicating the empty log the other echidna warrior had left behind, having departed with an eye roll when Lara-Su and Knuckles had been about to engage in their sibling fight. Shadow shrugged.

"It doesn't really matter who hears it. But yes, he is about the strongest fighter I've seen."

"Really?" Lara-Su sounded unconvinced. "I mean, I've seen him too and granted, he _is_ a total hottie-hog, but there's not that much muscle on him, is there? Doesn't seem like he could pack a punch."

"_Hottie_-" Shadow choked a bit when trying to repeat it, shooting a bit of a helpless side-glance at Knuckles, but the older echidna only managed to reply with a defeated head-shake, apparently also wishing that this girl wasn't directly related to him. Shade didn't seem to care for any nicknames and also spoke up.

"He did not challenge Rutan to an actual battle, either," she said, her cool gaze not saying anything about her own feelings on that decision. "Just ran away - even if I admit the way he disabled him before that was skillful. But if he is actually holding such power as you claim, then why would he flee from an opponent who has insulted him?" she asked. The Ultimate Lifeform was silent for a few moments, wondering whether to let himself get drawn into this conversation or go and start looking for Sonic, but then decided the latter was probably futile – he wouldn't find the blue hedgehog in the middle of the night if he didn't want to be found, and if he was going to fight Black Doom tomorrow, a wild hog chase was the last thing he needed right now. Shadow exhaled, slowly.

"Sonic fights with speed, not with strength and has defeated a lot of opponents several times his size," he said at last, his answer directed at both Shade and Lara-Su, although Knuckles and Lara-Le were also listening with some interest – as for the elder called Sabre, it was anyone's guess. "If he's out for damage in close combat, he kicks before he punches, and his attacks are effective because of the swiftness of their impact rather than the simple muscle strength he can put behind them. He's adept at a variety of styles, incorporating areal combat as well as using the environment to his fullest advantage. Also," he added, "trying to actually _hit_ the bastard when he's dancing rings around you is the most exasperating thing you can imagine."

Shade blinked, Knuckles raised his eye ridges and Lara-Su laughed out aloud. "Sounds like you've been having some fun times with him, then!" She grinned, and Shadow found that he almost felt like permitting himself a small smile back. He felt a little bit better about his decision to stay in their company as he stared into the fire and carefully selected the words to answer their other question.

"Despite that, though, I don't think he actually _likes_ using violence against other people if he can avoid it. When he does pick an actual fight it's mostly for amusement, really, or for defending others – he rarely bothers to stand up for himself," Shadow said, crimson eyes unfocusing slightly as he wasn't even talking so much to the echidnas now, but more lost in his own thoughts. "He's got a temper, but I think in this case he was thinking more along the lines of not wanting to hurt a warrior on the evening before a battle. He never takes a life, either. No matter what other people have tried to do to him..." Shadow trailed off, mostly because he could feel his own ire rising, images of Scourge cutting Sonic's neck or Raker's paws gripping the blue hedgehog's body lewdly both dancing in his memory. In the first instance it had been circumstances, in the second instance Sonic himself preventing the black hedgehog from killing the offender. What would happen tomorrow on the battlefield, he didn't know...

"Hm. What you're describing about his fighting style is impressive, but the rest sounds like hopeless naivety," Shade commented, running a hand along her dreadlocks. "He is disinclined to fight others to the point where he lets them push him into the dirt. To me that still sounds like a tamed and declawed pet after all...are you really sure he will be of any use when the war begins tomorrow?"

Shadow snorted, not intending to dignify that question with a reply. As it turned out, he didn't have to, mostly because someone else did that for him. There was a slow rumble from the other end of the fire and when heads turned, the black hedgehog realized that this was actually the elder, his low voice forming the first syllables of words that sounded like the branches of an ancient tree creaking in the wind, or perhaps the crackling coals of a low-burning fire.

"You speak as befits your young years, Shade," Sabre spoke, and his eyes stared at them through the flames, turning the leather-like skin of his face into a landscape of shadows and ridges that made him appear like a living being made of cragged rock. "But those who survive, and live to tell the tales of battles and of wars long past, we know," he said, and something about his words let even Shadow feel a little bit colder now than just before, and the old echidna's eyes seemed to glow with a warning, "that there are three things you shall fear if you are wise."

The wind picked up around them, as he spoke and they had to lean in a little to hear his next words, the fire's light dancing in their eyes as they listened.

"They are the sea in a storm and a night with no moon," Sabre was saying, quietly "but fear the most the anger of one who is _gentle_."

Shade didn't look convinced, while Shadow didn't say anything. But he remembered a day, not too long ago, when a monkey had laid a hand on Sonic's kid brother, and how the hedgehog's eyes had been _burning. _

Lara-Su, on the other hand, had listened with interest and now appeared to think. "Huh", she said finally, "You know, that kind of reminds me of an old poem, but I can't quite remember it anymore...but it was about the same thing. Like, about demons that will run. And something to do with night that falls and drowns the sun, when-"

"..._a good man goes to war_?" Shadow finished the phrase, a bit of surprised amusement in his voice. Lara-Su blinked.

"Yeah, that's it!" she clapped her hands. "You know it?"

Shadow nodded. "I came across it in my childhood." _ Just did NOT expect to hear it here of all places. Huh._

"It's a part of an old legend of our tribe," Julie-Su informed him proudly. "All about an ageless hero who is fighting to save the entire world," she grinned. "Our mum would tell us stories about Dokuta the echidna every night."

_'Dokuta' the echidna. Oh man,_ Shadow thought. Aloud, he said, "Yes, that pretty much sounds like the Faker to me."

"Faker?" Knuckles echoed with a frown.

"I mean Sonic. It's a...nickname. Er."

"_Right_," the son of the Guardian replied, but fortunately didn't seem like he wanted to pursue that topic further. Instead, Lara-Su leaned forward again, folding her arms on her knees and brushing her dark red bangs out of her curious face.

"Really? He wants to save the _world_? Your _slave_?" she asked, clearly not sure whether she should find that idea hilarious or amazing.

Shadow shrugged. "It's what he does, mostly. I'm just along for the ride," he said, knowing this statement to be nothing but the truth, and was therefore just a little bit thrown off guard when the shaman Lara-Le nodded as she heard this, and then smiled at him, and asked gently:

"That is a noble pursuit of your companion, Prince Shadow. But may I ask what it is that _you_ want?"

"...what?" Shadow asked, his tone a bit startled, the Ultimate Lifeform suddenly feeling as if someone had yanked a carpet away underneath his feet. "What do you mean?"

"You speak of everything you've done so far as if it had been Sonic's ideas and wishes alone. While that is a strange idea concerning you're supposed to be the owner and he the one owned all by itself, it leaves me to wonder what it is you yourself are hoping to achieve. We live but once," she said, and Shadow briefly felt a strange sort of lump in his throat as he could see the serene affection in her gaze, the mother and shaman regarding him with gentle sympathy.

Shadow shook his head quickly, clearing his throat before he could continue. This conversation had taken an unexpected turn into territory he was completely unfamiliar with. He tried to keep himself together, running a hand through his quills and at least managing a steady gaze at the others when he replied. "There is not much I want. If people can leave me alone that's good enough," he said, which was the truth. A lone existence as a wanderer between Club Rouge and the ARK really had been all he'd been asking for...until now.

_Now I want to go home. With Sonic. _

Shade raised an eye ridge in disbelief. "What? You were raised as a Prince and a warrior and you weren't even questing for glory? Or power? No goal at _all_?" Her tone swayed in between disapproval and an open accusation.

Shadow looked at her. "You may not share my view, but I don't really see the point of glory," he said, but then his eyes turned dark, and when he spoke his next words, Shade's challenging expression fell.

"And as for a goal, I used to have one, once. It was to save someone I cared about and all the power I had could not help when she died trying to protect me."

Shadow's voice had been cold and silence fell after he finished. Knuckles finally broke it, and his question was short and soft.

"Your lover?"

"My sister."

Shade dropped her eyes and looked away, but then the withered elder of the tribe nodded, and Lara-Le whispered a word and then silently threw some powder into the flame, the fire turning sky-blue only for an instant. Lara-Su briefly touched her heart and then her sword, while Knuckles just lightly laid a hand on Shadow's shoulder – and while not a single word had been spoken, and Shadow had not quite understood all of their gestures, the black hedgehog had the unshakeable feeling that the echidnas had just expressed their genuine compassion for the fate of a girl they had never met, and a part of him for the first time had actually appreciated the condolences, moreso because they hadn't been mere words but actual actions, and they had felt true.

And it helped a little, just a bit, to banish the memories again, when in front of his eyes the flames of the fire had briefly turned into _different_ flames, and corridors flooded with red light, sirens blaring and gunfire cracking like burning logs...

"She had a last wish before she went," Shadow said, his own voice helping to chase those images burnt into his mind away, his words replacing them with one of both the most treasured and simultaneously the most painful moment of his past fifty years ago. When she had been smiling for the last time...

_Just like he smiled for me_, a voice reminded him quietly in his own head, and now there was also a new picture to go with Maria's final moment, a happier one, and one, Shadow thought at that moment, that he couldn't hold less dear - Sonic's bright expression just for him on the execution platform, which was now overlapping in his mind with an oh-so-similar scenario from his past, but _this_ time it had ended _right, this_ time Sonic had managed to turn Silver into an ally beforehand and _this_ time Shadow had been able to see a way out at the last minute, and when their ropes had been cut, and they had fallen down on top of each other, and he had been able to feel Sonic's warm, shallow breath brushing over the fur above his own beating heart, _that _time, Shadow mused...

_That was the first time I can actually remember to feel grateful to still be alive._

After Maria's death he had tolerated his own continued existence, but not particularly treasured it. But now Sonic had managed to turn that memory into a less painful one by merging it with a new event, had turned Shadow's life into something he actually actively wanted to continue...

"What was it?" Lara-Su asked uncharacteristically softly, looking at Shadow with curiosity, and when the black hedgehog only blinked, appearing a bit startled by being roused from his memories so suddenly, Lara-Le gently clarified,

"What did your sister wish for, Prince Shadow? If you don't mind sharing with us."

"No," Shadow said, for the first time actually the ghost of a smile gracing his face, "I don't. It was actually rather simple – she just wanted me to give the people of my world a chance to be happy..." he trailed off, looking to the side and the faint smile gained a more sarcastic hardness as he continued dryly, "Except I'm not too terribly skilled at 'happy', if you haven't noticed by now."

Knuckles gave a shrug. "I don't know," he said, briefly looking into the direction Sonic had disappeared into. "Your pet hedgehog actually seemed quite happy – before Rutan had to run his mouth, that is."

"Yeah," Lara-Su chimed in as well, "You know, I'd say you're actually not half-bad at this. I mean, considering he's a slave and all, he would have to absolutely _hate_ his life, but you seem to have been able to make him like it!"

Shadow raised an eye ridge at the girl's statement, briefly considering it – of course he was pretty sure that if Sonic had been made an _actual_ slave, without the promise of near future release into his homeworld constantly dangling in front of his nose, there wouldn't have been enough chili dogs in the world to make the blue whirlwind actually _like_ it, but...now a small voice was actually whispering in Shadow's head, reminding him just subtly of how his unwilling slave had sometimes actually seemed to..._enjoy_ his position? Now Shadow's mind was puzzling, thinking about all the times when Sonic had deliberately picked fights he couldn't win, how he had ticked Shadow off on purpose, even if he knew he wasn't going to be able to evade punishment in retaliation, how he could have made so much more fuss about the new, black collar the second time 'round, but hadn't...

Shadow allowed himself mentally an absolutely devious smirk. _You tried to deny it, Faker, but I think I've seen through_ _your facade now – and oh, I think when we're back I'd like to have a little *fun* with you, now that I know that's how you like it..._

Not wanting to share these particular thoughts with a the echidnas and especially not with a girl that had insisted on calling Sonic a 'hunk-hog' before, though, Shadow merely shrugged and replied aloud, "Maybe. Mostly, I just take care to allow him to have as much freedom as possible. That seems to do the trick."

"Is that why you let him run loose so often and allowed him to run off from this camp fire previously?" Shade spoke again, but most of the accusatory tone gone from her voice after she had managed to accidentally open up such a dark topic beforehand.

Shadow shrugged. "That plays into it. Also, there's not much I could do, anyway. Catching that hedgehog when he's got a couple of minutes headstart and doesn't want to be caught is pretty much impossible, even for me. Don't think I would even if I could, though."

Lara-Su frowned a bit. "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having a pet in the first place if they come and go when they please?"

"People keep cats, don't they?" Shadow quipped briefly, wondering whether Sonic was starting to rub off on him, but then continued more seriously, "It's...complicated. But..." the Ultimate Lifeform stared into the flames again, but even if neither his voice nor his expression actually changed, Knuckles for some reason still had the uncanny impression that the black hedgehog suddenly seemed to be smiling. "...when he can do what he wants to, well," Shadow said, looking up again and into their faces, "what he does do is mostly trying to make things better. For everyone."

"Wait, that's...kind of what your sister wanted, isn't it?" Lara-Su said slowly, Shadow for the first time hearing words he might have been thinking spoken aloud. Now that they were, it seemed so obvious it was laughable.

"Yes, I suppose," he replied, lips slightly twitching before he turned his face skyward, glancing up at the stars and instinctively searching for that black spot in the sky, Maria's gravestone between the stars, the ruins of the space colony ARK still floating in orbit, and felt the smallest sting in his heart when he realized that of course, it wouldn't exist in _this_ sky.

_It is time to go home... _

"I like making her last wish come true," Shadow said easily, since it was the truth. _Only since that blue maniac seems to be so much better at it than I am, I mostly just end up lending him a hand instead, _Shadow thought, snorting, before continuing, "So it took him a while to convince me, but in the end I agreed to help him overthrow my father's kingdom."

"Hear, hear," Lara-Su cheered, "That's one crazy ambitious pet you've got there if ever I saw one!"

"You could probably say that," Shadow replied with some dry amusement, also remembering some earlier conversations he had had on that topic with Sonic. About how he actually had had to stop the collared hero at some points before he would have been running himself ragged...

_And here you said you were the one who would have to stop *me*, _Shadow thought quietly, thinking of the time he had lashed out at the rhino guard in the garden and appalled his supposed slave with the ruthlessness of a killer that he knew was always waiting just below the surface when someone let his blood boil...

_Well, perhaps it is a good thing when we are there to stop each other, _Shadow summed his thoughts on the topic up, adding, _now, I'd just need him to be *here*. _

"Though by now I wish my crazy-ambitious pet would develop some extra crazy ambitions to actually return to the campfire before it is dawn," Shadow said aloud, before shooting a side-glance at Knuckles. "I hope there isn't anything shiny around here that could have distracted him?"

"Well, nothing _shiny_, but the fox kid you brought sure has," Lara-Su replied instead of her brother, pointing in the general direction of some other campfires. "Last time I saw him about half an hour ago, he was still talking to him."

"What?" Shadow rose, "You saw him? With the two-tail?"

"Sure," the echidna girl replied easily, "just stopped by to talk to the two of them, before I dropped in here. Wo-HOAH, that guy can sure run as fast as his pet...!" she called out, but of course, by then Shadow had already departed in a blaze of hoverskates.

xxx

"- and then, once we got to Frog Forest, this other hedgehog was all like 'wah wah, this is a date to die for' and me and my buddy and my other friend were just about to rush in and blunt his spines so hard they wouldn't be able to cut no cheese no more and- "

"Ahem."

It was the sort of 'ahem' that really is not a natural clearing of the throat at all, but rather communicates pointedly that someone is standing behind you that you really wish wouldn't be. In Sonic's case, though, he just turned around and beamed up at his extended audience, as unapologetic as a house cat with a grin of whipped cream.

"Oh, hey there, Shads. Was just telling Tails about some old adventures of mine where I fought this completely unrelated dark-furred maniac hedgehog. And completely won, by the way."

"How fascinating," the Ultimate Lifeform dead-panned, before turning around to Tails,

"Has he also mentioned how he also got his tail handed to him on a silver platter and then locked behind bars by that very same dashing handsome dark stranger only a year before that incident?"

"Uh...no..." Tails managed to get out, before Sonic had already stood up rather quickly.

"Right, I think that's _enough_ story time for now," he said, before quirking one ear up at Shadow. "Missed me?"

"Well, I _was _wondering where you'd run off to," Shadow replied, "Fortunately that echidna girl Lara-Su pointed me in the right direction."

"Oh. Yeah. She was here earlier," Sonic said, dusting himself off as he stood. "So, if you found the camp site with Knuckles, was that jerkface still there?"

"If you mean the other warrior, no, he left," Shadow replied off-handedly, before casting a look at Sonic's midriff. "Have you eaten by now?"

"Nah, didn't have much of an appetite when that guy was around," Sonic answered with a shrug, before turning back to Tails. "Hey, wanna come with us back to the fire where Knuckles is? We can all have a shish kepap or something."

Tails shook his head. "I can't. They'll call for us to go soon. But...thank you. For everything. And..." he smiled. "I really really liked the stories. And your friend who kinda looks like me. He seems nice," the two-tail said, again scuffing a toe on the ground, and then, without warning, actually flung two skinny arms up, wrapped them around Sonic's waist and hugged the blue hedgehog fiercely in what had most likely been the first completely unrestrained display of affection from the formerly enslaved kit that both of the dimension-travellers had witnessed. Shadow could see how Sonic was surprised just for a split-second, but then, instinctively, hugged the fox kit back, closing his eyes just for a second before also smiling at Shadow over Tails' head, and the black hedgehog at this moment could read the hero of Mobius' thoughts exactly.

_Thank you. _

Shadow had actually arrived just a little bit earlier than he had made his presence known when he cleared his throat, and he had just stayed in the darkness and watched for a moment, then...and at this point had understood how much Sonic had needed this. The blue hedgehog had been telling Tails of the adventures he had had, had been watching the kit's eyes grow wide with amazement and wonder, the light of curiosity and the wish for exploring growing with each tale he told, while at the same time also letting _Sonic_ remember that there was a fox kit in those stories, a two-tail that was waiting for him to go come home again, while reassuring him that this Tails would be fine, that this dimension had a fighting chance now, that...there was _closure. _

And therefore, when Sonic finally released his brother that was at the same time someone else, and Tails smiled at them both one last time before he had to hurry to assemble with the other tribe kids, his own two feet carrying him into a different future in his world that they were trying to save, Shadow could feel that Sonic was now finally ready when the blue hedgehog snuck his gloved hand into Shadow's and grasped it firmly, fingers interlacing as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Finished everything, then?" Shadow asked casually as they started walking back toward the camp fire, an easy stride that both of them had assumed without prompting. Sonic briefly seemed to ponder the question while looking up at the sky, but when he then actually turned back to Shadow, there was no trace of doubt left in his eyes, just a hint of a smile on his lips.

"...yeah. Let's save this world and then go home, Shads. Together."

_To be continued..._

* * *

Heyy there, again!^^ Right, so, returned safely from Japan and may even have some more time for writing now, so...possibly more updates than during the last year? I do apologize for the lack of action in this chapter, but it's coming, I promise. Hope you had some fun anyway. :) And if you read, please review? It really is the comments that have kept me going chapter for chapter. There's also a bunch of BRILLIANT fanart you simply have to look at, all updated with fixed links on my profile now. Even a soundtrack for the fic! XD

Finally, what I recently noticed: If you sort the Sonic fanfic archive by reviews, guess which fic comes out on top? And if you sort by favourites? Or even follows? You guys are amazing, thank you so much, and I will do my best to bring this story to the epic conclusion it deserves soon. All the best,

Chiisai Kitsune :)_  
_


	52. When A World Lies Dying

**Anonymous Review Replies!  
**

**Natarra: **Thanks! Glad you liked! :D (especially since you had to wait the whole *winter* for this...XD)

**SonadowLuver:** That is...original, I think. O.o I hope this new chapter eliminates the need for Teddy Bears/ninjas/snowglobes...?^^°

**Kit Bikyuu**: Hah, clever plan! Unfortunately, my Sonic/ Doctor Who crossover is on my *other* account. ;p But thanks for the review!

**Guest:** Thanks! Hope you like this one as well!

**Moon over Rainbo**: Oh dear, you're right! XD Shall have to fix this. Thank you! Damn similar-sounding weekday and echidna names...:p

**SonicGirlGamer:** I just can't resist the brotherly fluff either. XD JudasFm's fanfic has forever spoilt me. :p Thanks for the comment!

**KirbyChan:** Believe me, me too. -.- It's amazing how filler creeps up on you. Skyblaze has already trimmed the chapter, btw. Imagine what you'd have to trudge through without _her_.

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Thanks for commenting!

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**Zoey klinkman**: Updated! It just takes a while, usually. ;)

**Chapter 52: When A World Lies Dying (War Begins)  
**

"Are you happy _now_?"

The question was asked in a familiar dry tone, and prompted Sonic to smile at the black hedgehog who had asked it.

"Very," he replied. "Thanks."

"No no no, don't hold back. Anyone _else_ you'd like to visit and improve their life before we go home? Because I 've taken such a _fancy _to this place I'd simply _love_ to-" Shadow started, but was interrupted when Sonic gave him a playful shove and stuck his tongue out.

"So sorry to have been wasting your time with my saving-people-thing, Master," the blue hedgehog apologized with a sincerity that rivaled that of the Joker asking for Batman's autograph, "Of course," he added, "it's not like without me making friends with Silver we'd be dead at the gallows or anything, or without me busting out Knuckles from the castle the echidnas wouldn't be giving us free food and shelter at the moment, or without me talking to Sa-"

"Point. Taken," Shadow cut him off in a dead-pan, and at the same time wished that the cocksure grin Sonic gave at his exasperation wouldn't also simply make that damned whirlwind hedgehog simply even more attractive.

_And he *knows* it, I'm sure. _

"C'mon, Shads. You know it feels good to help," Sonic said with a warm expression in his eyes, even if Shadow only gave a non-committal grunt in return. The pair of dimension travellers was on their way back to the campfire where Knuckles and the rest of his family sat, and once again, Sonic's good mood was almost infectious, until-

"And the runaway pet returns. Have been retrieved by your owner, then?" a female voice asked with a bit of a sneer, and Sonic's expression turned into a non-impressed dead-pan at this greeting when they had finally reached the group by the fire. The collared hero came to a halt, both hands sinking onto his hips as blue spikes bristled, though it was still short of real anger.

"You know what?" Sonic asked instead, „Screw you guys. I can do what I want whenever I want and visit any place I chose to, and if that's not freedom, I don't know what is," he said, before adding. "And on top of that, I bet with all your tribe laws in place, that's actually more freedom than _you _could ever dream to have," he said, directing that last remark squarely at Shade who had stopped sneering now and returned Sonic's last phrase only with a glower. The blue hedgehog seemed to take that as a victory, and, giving a small satisfied grin again, finished with:

"And just in case any of you _still_ think staying with him isn't completely my own decision..." The collared hero flashed another bright grin at them, then swiftly turned around, facing Shadow and putting both his hands on the other's cheeks, right before planting a kiss on surprised tan lips that was just as sweet as the first one they had shared and, despite their audience, not less intimate.

When it had finished, Sonic turned around to the momentarily stunned echidnas again, grinning like a rogue that had stolen the loot. "So I'd love to hear what you'd have to say to _that_."

The answer, turned out, was just a little bit unexpected when Lara-Su, the first to recover her poise, answered Sonic's grin actually with just a small, cheeky smile of her own and said, "Well, honey-hog, congratulating you on your proposal springs to mind."

Shadow, who had been on wobbly legs ever since Sonic had decided to spring that kiss on him without any warning, chose that moment to simply drop down where he stood with as much grace as he could muster.

xxx

Knuckles the Echidna stood at the edge of Angel Island, and his eyes were closed. Few people knew because few had thought about it, but steering a land mass that had once been large enough to hold an entire civilization was not an easy task, nor one that only cost a slight amount of energy. Knuckles' forehead was creased in a frown as he could feel his mind being _stretched_, his mental connection with the Master Emerald opened much wider than it was usually necessary.

The Guardian gave a light groan and swayed slightly, but then steadied himself as the initial inertia was over. He _was _now the island, could feel its mountains and craggy cliffs, its grasses clinging to its edges and its trees standing strong against the breeze. He could move, slowly, and sedate, as landmasses often do, but also with an inevitability to his course that would not be deterred by wind, rain or thunderstorms. Violet eyes opened abruptly, now suffused with a deep emerald gleam, and with a course set for a small house just before the jungle of the Mystic Ruins, Angel Island _moved_.

xxx

"A _wedding_ proposal." The words were uttered in much the same vein as someone might ask for clarification after learning that their front teeth needed to be pulled, and the person in question was a mammoth.

"Pretty much," Knuckles stated. "Neither of you is married, you are of age and he kissed you in front of several tribe members on the eve of a battle – that's a definite asking for your hand."

"You. Sit. Down. Before you get us into any more trouble," Shadow muttered the last phrase at the floor after issuing his command, to which Sonic at least complied without making a fuss this time, settling himself easily between Shadow's legs and resting his upper body against the other's abdomen. Shadow hadn't moved from the log he had sunk on yet, and Sonic himself was now smiling a bit nervously, but apparently not minding to sit on the floor as long as it meant he could use Shadow as a back rest.

"Well?" Lara-Su leaned forward at them, grinning like a red-furred shark. "Are you gonna accept, my Prince?"

"He's of lower status, so technically that's the correct procedure," Knuckles added in a way that meant Shadow wasn't quite sure whether the echidna was trying to be helpful or just enjoying this situation a little bit more than was decent. "He had to dare to ask for something. You can choose to give it to him."

"Er..." Shadow looked at Sonic a bit helplessly. Sonic blinked back at him, apparently also at a loss for words, green eyes showing a curious mixture of bemusement and the same befuddled surprise as Shadow's at his own unwitting daring, but if you looked closer, there was actually something deeper, a sort of something more warm, and even...a hidden hope?

Shadow broke the eye contact a little quicker than he had planned and cleared his throat before trying to regain his composure and casting again a glance at the round of warriors (where everyone now seemed to listen with great interest).

"But...no matter what I say, you can't be _seriously _suggesting a marriage ceremony _now_ of all times."

"It could be fun. This being the echidna tribe there'd probably be fire and goat sacrifices and stuff. Ow!" Sonic yelped after having muttered the first sentence quietly enough so only the black hedgehog had been able to pick it up and promptly dug his fingers into the back of Sonic's neck for it.

"Hush. Your filterless nonsense has brought us enough chaos in one day," Shadow muttered back, before turning to the echidnas again. "...right?"

Lara-Le shook her head slightly. "I know you're probably thinking of the marriage celebrations in your castle and their splendour, but this is our tribe and asking for a hand on the eve of battle means a war marriage, whose ceremony is a quick affair, but not less important, or less sincere," the shaman said, before smiling, even if there seemed to be something bittersweet to her expression. "A marriage in those circumstances..." she paused, perhaps taking a moment to choose her words. "It's about not knowing whether you will ever have another night with your loved one. It's about not knowing whether there will ever be a child, of blood or of choice. And about what happens if the answer should be _no_, so if either one of you will fall on the battle field tomorrow, the gods may know to unite your souls in the warriors' realm," she said eventually, kindly, but solemn. Then she looked at them both. "But the question still stands, my Prince. Will you accept him to fight at your side?"

Shadow didn't reply immediately, his eyes wandering back to catch Sonic's stare, the blue hedgehog still sitting half-turned in front of him, gazing up now with an expression where most of the overly silly humour seemed gone now, only a small spark in his emerald eyes remaining, the rest of his body very still, almost in expectant silence for once. The situation seemed surreal for just a moment, the light of the flames dancing over them both, neither able to say anything for a moment until Sonic finally broke the silence for them both.

"Your choice," he whispered, and then smiled. "I'll love you either way." Then he paused for a moment and added with a slight shrug. "Mind you, I'm sorry I couldn't propose with the Chaos Emerald embedded in a giant engagement ring. Then again, I'm fairly sure Knuckles would have had to say something about damaging any of his magic rocks for jeweller- "

"Sonic?"

"Yes?"

"Shut it. Answer's 'yes'."

And with that, the blue hero could suddenly a finger slipping underneath his collar in an already wonderfully familiar fashion, forcing him to lift his head and tilt it back willingly as tan lips descended softly on his own...

and even as Lara-Le spoke, and the cheers of the assembled warriors couldn't quite drown out her words of '_I hereby bless this marriage in times of strife. May your bond last until peace returns and longer, or honourable death entwines your spirits in the realm of warriors for eternity', _neither of the hedgehogs could help but feel that while this development may have been entirely unbidden, it was definitely _not_ unwelcome.

xxx

Miles 'Tails' Prower stood in front of his workshop, glancing at the sky. It had an unhealthy glow to it, yellowish, a bit like before a storm, but somehow more worrying. Strange winds had started to pick up when the sun rise had come, tugging at his bangs in erratic ways that seemed to have nothing to do with natural breezes. Something in Tails' head whispered that this was maybe the very air itself trying to escape from a planet that was doomed, but his inner scientist did his best to crush that nonsensical thought immediately. Shaking his head, and ignoring the fur standing on end on the back of his neck, the small two-tail turned around resolutely and vanished back inside his house, only steeling himself briefly on top of the stairs that would lead down to the cellar. Taking a deep breath he opened the door leading inside.

"And our captor has returned. Tell me, just how long are you planning on keeping us imprisoned in your fortress, before I shall lay waste to it?"

_And here we go again, _Tails thought. The darker one of the two hedgehogs in the laboratory was glaring balefully at him through the Chaos-shielding forcefield Tails had created as a makeshift containment tank for the pair, careful to include also the small bathroom of the lab in it as well, but no dangerous machinery the two would have been able to damage.

"If you want to 'lay waste' to anything, you should probably hurry up," the fox kit muttered, trying to ignore the burning death glare in his back. Shadow was standing at the very edge of the bluish flickering membrane, arms crossed over his chest, while Sonic was sitting in a corner, looking anxious and small, a depressingly familiar sight.

"What was that, knave?"

"Nothing," Tails sighed defeatedly, before powering up his machines and trying to actually concentrate on the task at hand. If Sonic and Shadow wouldn't finally snap out of it, this was actually their final shot. The fox kit got out a screwdriver and some electrodes, preparing to get to work. For a few moments, everything was thankfully quiet, only for some sort of strange grumbling noise that he only registered vaguely, and which had probably been only Shadow glaring not daggers, but broadswords at his back anway.

"...fox kid."

Tails, bent over a workshop table, froze for a moment. The black hedgehog had spoken, but...it hadn't actually sounded downright hostile. And he also wasn't used to being called anything but derogatives by the black hedgehog, either. Tails turned around.

"Yeah?"he asked, noting that now the posture had subtly changed, not quite as bristling as before. The black hedgehog licked his lips before he spoke, obviously a bit struggling to get the words out.

"...my pet is hungry. Don't you feed your captives in your strange country?"

"Ah! I'm sorry, I totally forgot!" Tails cried out, before briefly glancing back at the opened console before him, now biting his lip. "But I'm almost finished with this and it's really urgent and if you could wait only twenty more minutes-"

"Please."

The screwdriver Tails had been holding now fell out of his hand at last. In all the days since Shadow had lost his mind (and technically, not even before that) the fox kit had had never, every heard him say 'please'.

"Master, please, I – this slave will be fine, do not trouble yourself for m-"Sonic in his corner had raised his head and there was a pleading expression on his face now, as well as a flicker of slight panic in his gaze. A sharp turn of the dark hedgehog's head let him immediately flinch and bite his own lip, though.

"You're in my care, my pet. As such, any decisions regarding your health are mine to make," the striped Sapient said, his tone a warning as effective as a whip if judged by the hastiness with which the cowering hedgehog dropped his gaze. But he wasn't yet quite silenced.

"But...you mustn't...this slave can't be spoiled, or – pleading for food is not anything that Master should..."

There was an intake of breath from Shadow and Sonic immediately cringed even more, instinctively bowing his head deeper where he sat kneeling, eyes squeezed shut and fists crossed defenselessly at the wrists behind his back. For a moment, Tails was about to panic, not knowing whether the darker hedgehog would now actually try to hit his big brother and what he was possibly supposed to do in this situation as the world was falling to pieces around his ears already, but then, as unexpected as the politeness before had been, Tails almost wasn't able to believe what happened next. With a few quick strides, Shadow had passed over to Sonic and raised his hand, but instead of hurting the other, his touch was actually gentle, a smooth stroking over the head that immediately let the other relax, before the black hedgehog's hand settled more firmly on the kneeling hedgehog's neck. He turned back to Tails.

"I don't know what you think of me otherwise, vulpine, but I am first and foremost a ruler. I _care_ about what is mine. And..." and here he briefly closed his eyes. "...and if there's anything I have to do to protect it from harm, I will."

The two-tail for a moment couldn't think of anything to reply. For the first time, Shadow had actually shown something that could have been construed as normal behaviour. _Even if far from normal for _*_him*_, Tails thought. But even that smallest of demonstrations of not complete hostility, and, perhaps even more important, even that small willingness of Sonic to speak _up_ again for once...

Tails finally nodded. "I'll bring something. Be right back."

xxx

"So..." another Sonic, who was quite happily fed, asked eventually, "How's that battle going to look like, tomorrow? Who's everyone that's going to be fighting?"

The fire was still burning brightly after their brief marriage ceremony had been completed; there had been no rings or similar exchanged, but Lara-Lee assured them that wouldn't be necessary. Mere jewellery could be stolen, mere tokens of love lost in a battle, but in the face of a war their promise was enough in the eyes of the gods, she'd said. Now the evening seemed to be drawing to close, though, and Sonic and Shadow were just trying to get the last necessary information for tomorrow's grand debut.

Shade only raised an eye ridge at Sonic's question that communicated what she probably thought of anyone going to war without even properly informed about who was actually participating, but Lara-Su fortunately had decided to be more helpful.

"Well," she said, "It's mostly going to be Black Doom's troops fighting against several smaller groups. The strongest of them being our tribe, of course," she added with a grin bordering on the cocky, "though the largest in numbers might be Queen Aleena's army. She's been fighting for nearly two _years_."

"Two years!" Sonic blurted out before he could stop himself, only recovering and trying to gain back his composure by adding, "I mean...that...that's a really long time..."

"She lost her only son," Lara-Le said quietly, but with a tone that was an explanation in itself. „No one really knows what happened to him, but most of the rumours say he is in Black Doom's realm, kept imprisoned somewhere, much like Knuckles was. And if I know anything, then it's that a mother will _never _stop searching."

"Yeah, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Lara-Su asked, curiously. "I mean, some say he was abducted, some say he ran away, some say he's already dead...some rumours even said that not even your father knew the whereabouts of that Prince and was looking for him himself, to use as a hostage and leverage, but no one could ever find a trace. Weird, huh?" the echidna girl said, fortunately not paying too much attention to Sonic edging just ever so slightly into the shadows at this topic. Shadow spoke instead.

"I can't say I've ever heard anything substantial regarding her son," he stated, "and like I said, I tried to avoid concerning myself with my father's affairs, so unfortunately I know no more than you do," he answered glibly. "What is even known about this...prince?"

"Nothing much, really," Knuckles shrugged. "Only that he's a hedgehog, and has some sort of unnatural fur colour like his mother, purple or blue or turquoise or something. Could be anyone, really."

"Yeah!" Sonic replied with just *slightly* more enthusiasm than neceessary, "_Anyone_, right?."

"But you said there's more factions fighting?" Shadow interrupted the current topic of conversation quickly, having no idea what would happen if people found out that the missing prince was currently sitting in their midst. Probably start playing '20 questions' _again_, he thought and they were neither in the mood nor in a position to answer any of them. Luckily, no one seemed to mind the topic change.

"Well, now that negotiations have been broken off, King Maximillian of Acorn is going to be the third party fighting against Black Doom, although he might not have mobilized all his troops yet," Shade replied off-handedly, only for Lara-Su to butt in with:

"And then, there might be Queen Blaze joining our side, too," the youngest echidna added excitedly, "I mean, at first there were discussions about her actually becoming an ally of Black Doom, but then there was talk that you rejected her daughter Amy's hand in marriage..." she said, giving Shadow a curious look to confirm or deny, while Sonic next to him was already tellingly cringing at the memory of Amy of all people keeping him on the hated leash.

Shadow briefly cleared his throat.

"Yes, I suppose I might have done that. The princess and I were not entirely...compatible."

"Well, seeing as you just recently married a _male_, I can see how that happened," Shade replied dryly, before briefly running her fingers along the edge of her blade as if to test it. "Still, it's not sure whether it will be a good or a bad thing if the cat queen enters the war."

"Why not?" Sonic asked, genuinely curious. After all, Blaze had never been the friendliest of people he knew, but her heart _was_ in the right place, surely...?

Lara-Su bit her lip, even her giddiness at this topic seeming a bit subdued. "Well..." she started hesitantly, "It's only a legend, but..." she licked her lips. "They say when Queen Blaze goes to war, the world _burns_."

"Oh," Sonic mouthed.

_...yeeeah. I guess that's what actually *would* happen if you took her anywhere that wasn't either the ocean or some post-apocalyptic world that's burned out anyway and then went on to piss her off..._

"I'm glad she's not mad at us in our world," he whispered to his former owner, receiving a snort in return. Aloud, he said:

"Well, with or without her, that sounds like pretty good odds to me. Three against one."

"Perhaps," Knuckles said calmly while poking the logs in the still burning fire, "But Black Doom's army is vast and large and desperate, more afraid what happens to them if they should lose this war than dying in it. And then there's this strange secret weapon he seems to have acquired..."

"We will take care of that bit," Shadow said firmly, prompting a few raised eye ridges, but didn't let that perturb him. "Sonic and me excel in speed first and foremost. We will strike first before anyone else and put his army in as much disarray as possible before your tribe gets there, by which time we hopefully already have wrested that weapon from his hands."

"And then what?" Shade asked, suspiciously. "What are you going to do with that thing once you have it? And what kind of weapon _is _it, anyway?"

"A gem stone able to focus energy," Shadow replied, "I don't know how Black Doom intends to use it, though," he said, and partially even meant it. He could imagine a few things, yes, but had little to no idea what was going through the medieval King's head.

"It'll be fine," Sonic said, re-assuringly. "Now that we know what to watch out for from tall, dark and harmsome, we'll be able to take him down in no time. Don't worry, it's not the first time we're in a battle." This was accompanied by a confident stretch in the light and a smile before the blue hedgehog made to reach for another meat skewer stuck close to the flames. As muscles underneath the blue and peach fur had strained, Shadow noticed the lines and ridges in the fur again that he had felt at night before, but now the dancing shadows of the fire made them noticeable even to the naked eye, and a glance at the echidnas some of which had raised their eye ridges made clear that they had seen it, too – and recognized them for what they were, as any warrior would, knowing exactly what would be beneath Sonic's pelt if one cared to look.

"I believe your words. There...are scars all over your body," Lara-Le finally said, her tone carefully not betraying any emotion, but her eyes looked slightly sad.

"What?" Sonic blinked at the unexpected reply, briefly halting in his move for the skewer and glancing down at himself. "Oh. Yeah. I guess there are," he said, seeing the irregular lines crisscrossing his abdomen in his view. Although of course he knew they were there, usually they weren't that noticeable, but when you hadn't been able to properly brush your fur or use any shampoo to smoothe down irregularities, the collared hedgehog supposed he shouldn't be surprised that they stood out. The newest and still broadest were of course the cuts from Erazor's twin swords, and a slash King Arthur's phantom had dealt him. Some of these Sonic was mostly glad not to have to see every day, knowing how close to death the wounds that had caused them had brought him. Especially the ones Robotnik had caused in his dungeon...

Sonic forced himself not to return to that memory.

"I travel a lot. Sometimes things happen," he instead replied curtly, taking a drink from a clay pot next to the fire, the echidnas fortunately not acting so surprised anymore as they finally seemed to have managed to wrap their heads around the idea that just because Sonic seemed to be marked as Shadow's, he did not spend the majority of his time crawling around his feet.

"_You_ on the other hand don't seem to have many scars at all, my Prince," Shade pointed out with a tone that sounded just a bit like a challenge, her head cocked in question. "Not much for fighting, your grace?"

Shadow shrugged, not bothering to react to the barbs entangled in her words. "I don't scar easily."

"Except for on your shoulder, apparently," Lara-Su pointed at the ridge of black fur winding all around where Shadow's right arm met his torso. "Judging by that scar, that cut must have been _nasty._"

"Well, it was a little bit more than a cut," the black hedgehog replied with some dry amusement in his tone. Lara-Su did not seem to be inclined to inquire further, which suited the black hedgehog. It was an old wound and he did not appreciate others leaving marks on his body; people noticing them even less. The black hedgehog brushed over the cut in his cheek with slight annoyance, the three fine red lines having taken a long time to stop bleeding and were faintly burning still. The Ultimate Lifeform wondered with some irritation whether the sorry state his body had been in during the last few days would mean that this one wouldn't heal properly, either, leaving him with a clear mark of the feline guard commander's loving caress after their first failed attempt to escape their execution.

Well. If there was any hope for his system to return to functioning properly, there was only one thing for it.

"Thank you again for your hospitality," Shadow said aloud, nodding to their hosts. "But before the battle starts tomorrow both of us need some more rest, so if you don't mind, we'd take our leave now."

"Sure, go ahead," Knuckles nodded. "We probably should do the same. I'll get you some blankets to camp out," he said, at the same time getting up to walk to his tent.

"...ah. Yes. Thank you," Shadow said, trying to recover and not to let his initial reaction of 'you mean we _don't_ get to sleep in a tent?!' show on his face.

Apparently, it hadn't worked too well.

"D'aww, is someone being an indoor-hog?" Sonic asked, giving him a slight nudge with his elbow into the side together with an in the Ultinate Lifeform's opinion indecently sly grin. Shadow tried not to grace it with a reaction. „Come on, sleeping underneath the stars, it'll be great!" Sonic said, giving Knuckles a nod of thanks as the echidna returned with some woollen blankets that he dumped into the blue hedgehog's arms.

"Aboard the ARK I slept _among_ the stars. I still had a proper bed and a roof over my head," Shadow grumbled, but Sonic already wasn't listening anymore, instead wishing the others now extinguishing the fire a good night and thanking them for the food.

"Well, it's better than a dungeon floor," Sonic quipped with a wink and then actually surprised the black hedgehog by simply snatched his wrist and proceeded to pull him towards the edge of the forest and the edge of the camp.

xxx

"Are you trying to _poison_ him, cleft-tailed fox demon?"

Tails heaved a long-suffering sigh. Things seemed to be back to normal again, but at least his experiment was going quite well so far, so he found he could cope with it much better. Knuckles met Shadow's glare for him with a dead-pan stare instead.

"It's frozen pizza, hedgehog. That blue nuisance usually lives on that stuff. And while I personally think it tastes like cardboard, I yet have to see anybody die of it."

"Frozen _what?" _Shadow asked back, suspicion not yet quite vanished from his gaze. Knuckles was personally glad that at least the two hedgehogs seemed to get along now, Sonic still uncharacteristically quiet, but at least seemingly contentedly munching on a slice of _margarita_ in a corner.

"Frozen pizza," Knuckles repeated. "Cheap Italian fast food?" he tried, and when that didn't produce any signs of understanding, said: "Things pretending to be tomatoes and cheese baked on something that looks almost like bread." Shadow briefly looked a bit grossed out and the echidna booked that as a triumph. It had been about twenty minutes since he'd arrived with Angel Island over Tails' house, and the fox' domicile was now bathed in the permanent shadow of a landmass of hundreds of thousands of tonnes floating above their heads. It could have been mildly unnerving if the end of the world wouldn't have been a greater concern. For a moment, Knuckles glanced at the last rays of sun filtering through the window. T minus eight hours, his internal clock supplied. The world would end sometime next morning on a Monday, and a sarcastic part of the echidna's brain pointed out it was at least nice that it could potentially save a lot of people the commute into the office.

"How's it going?" he asked Tails, now stepping over to the kit wearing dark goggles over his eyes, not unlike Robotnik and joined him at the workbench next to the console. For the first time, Tails' voice sounded steady and hopeful again.

"Well," he said, "actually pretty good. Now we're just waiting for Rouge to get back with the gem stone I asked for. And then, with the Master Emerald straight above our heads, and the available levels of energy through the roof," he pointed toward several maxed-out dials on a screen that looked far more complicated than any the echidna ever had had to deal with,"if the mountain won't come to the prophet," Tails continued, "that is, if we can't find the Emerald that we're missing," he said, and for a moment his eyes were aglow with what couldn't have just been the light reflected by the computer screens, and Knuckles thought he could almost see Sonic standing behind him now instead of cowering in the corner, tall and proud and with a grin on his face, as Tails straightened up, surrounded by his tools and blue eyes blazing like his hero's, declared:

"We're gonna make our _own_ Emerald!"

xxx

"Say...do think the Tails of this dimension is as clever as my kid bro at home?"

Not quite knowing why that question had popped into his mind just now, the hedgehog had asked it in a quiet voice, and after there had already been some time of silence as the last of the fire had died down. They had made their makeshift beds not too far from the tents and the camp fire they had sat at previously, their vision of the night sky above only partially obscured by some branches swaying gently above them. Shadow grudgingly had to admit it was a bit nicer than he had imagined, the summer night warm enough that they could use the thicker blanket as a mattress, the thinner one covering both their bodies lying side by side. After a few minutes of not saying anything and just getting comfortable, Sonic settling just a little bit lower and resting his head on Shadow's shoulder, the collared hedgehog had now spoken up without a prompt, letting Shadow look briefly down at him, before raising his eyes at the sky again when he answered.

"Almost definitely. I wouldn't worry about that."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked, a bit of surprise in his tone at the confidence of the black hedgehog's words. "How do you know?" he asked, interest sparking up in his voice as he raised his gaze to give Shadow a questioning glance.

"Well..." Shadow paused briefly, seeming to think about how to phrase what he wanted to say. "I was designed and raised by Professor Gerald Robotnik and grew up with his granddaughter," the black hedgehog began, "And I can tell you that while my creator nearly always wore dark glasses – a custom his grandson also seems fond of – I've also seen him take them off a couple of times and I knew Maria's eyes better than anyone else, I think."

Shadow's gaze was now just slightly drifting off into the distance as he told about his past, and Sonic wondered whether he had ever seen the dark-furred hedgehog like this before. "They were inventors," he said, and now he gave the slightest of smiles that Sonic knew he reserved for old memories, "...and when you looked into their eyes, you could see the universe spinning in their heads."

There was a moment of silence that Sonic let pass, Shadow's words floating away on the breeze while the hero of Mobius knew that his partner's mind was drifting among stars just now, and he himself was unsure what to reply. It was when the black hedgehog turned his head and his gaze connected with Sonic's once more that he spoke again.

"I've glanced at the fox kid. There's stars in his eyes, same as the one you've got at home." Shadow's lips twitched. "When you told him about your adventures it looked like a meteor shower going off in his head. Now that no one is going to beat him for opening his mouth any more and he's going to have a chance to learn to read, he's probably going to be responsible for the dawn of technology in this world before anyone knows what's hit them."

There was a slight movement against his chest fur and Shadow knew that it was the lips of the blue hero, now drawing into a smile. When their eyes met again, the Ultimate Lifeform could see all of the pride of a big brother shining in the other's gaze, the blue whirlwind for once as content as he could imagine him being.

"Thanks, Shads. Then let's make sure tomorrow's battle isn't going to change that future."

"No worries. Let's try and not force any gods to chase after either of our souls. Catching yours in particular would be too much of a hassle," the black hedgehog replied, talking into the fur on Sonic's head, sounding half-amused and already tired

"Heh, yeah, the echidna wedding vows," Sonic replied with a bit of chuckle before quieting down again, Shadow already thinking that the blue whirlwind might have slipped off into sleep already, but then he spoke again, and his tone was much more sombre.

"Shadow...I want to end this day tomorrow with nobody dying."

It had sounded soft, almost insecure, and in response, the black hedgehog instinctively wrapped an arm somewhat tighter around a blue flank.

"We'll do what we can. We will strike fast and we will strike first, end the battle before it starts. That's what we're best at."

"Mmh," Sonic agreed half-heartedly, but shifting and relaxing some more into the black hedgehog's grip. Then there was a little bit of a pause before he spoke up again, his tone suspiciously innocent.

"...you know, I think there's some _more_ things we're good at."

Shadow took a moment to process this, then moved his head so he could look into his pet's face and quirked an eye ridge.

"Are you seriously...?"

Sonic gave a wicked grin, but then chuckled a bit ruefully, and then shook his head a little.

"Actually, no. I'm a little bit..." he turned his head away to look at the sky again, and Shadow wondered for a moment whether he had either imagined the faint tinge of red on his cheeks or perhaps the slight infliction of annoyance in his voice...

"...indisposed."

And the Ultimate Lifeform's quirked eye ridge was quickly replaced by a smirk.

"'Sore', you meant to say?"

A glower. "Shut it."

"_You're_ the one complaining? After all, this is supposed to be our wedding night," Shadow said, just a touch of light sarcasm in his tone which was probably meant for all the splendour of their two blankets on a the dirt floor, "and you're telling me you're not 'putting out'?"

"Spare me the street slang, you're either too young or waaay too old for it," Sonic retorted with a slight nose nudge, again settling against Shadow's shoulder as the dark hedgehog snorted.

"Fine. You couldn't spell 'sophisticated' if you just had the vowels to fill in, I'm leaving the urban dictionary nonsense to you."

"Whatever," the collared hedgehog replied, stretching lazily against Shadow and apparently finally settling in to sleep.

"As for anything else, however..."

Shadow's voice trailed off, just as his fingers trailed lower, their bare tips dancing down Sonic's spine and in between quills, letting the blue hero satisfyingly shiver against Shadow, and then black-furred hands dipped even deeper...

There was a slight intake of breath from Sonic as Shadow's hands had crept path his tail and settled just lightly on a part of himself that he would have preferred remain untouched for just a while.

"Oy..."

It was a sleepy protest, one that couldn't quite decide whether there was anything _to_ object to, and to Sonic's dismay, the dancing fingers appeared to pay it no heed. Instead, fingers spread wide, they grabbed more firmly and _squeezed_, just enough that there was a slight smarting, enough to evoke the memory of what had been inside him, that hot, painful pleasure that had driven him over the edge yesterday and Sonic's breath hitched once more, suddenly powerless to protest again.

Shadow could see his face with his eyes squeezed shut from above, blue body straining weakly in his grasp. He let his fingers flex and bite into blue fur again, this time also spreading Sonic just slightly and could not help a little smile at the way his supposed slave squirmed into him at the touch, air sucked through small pointy teeth a sign that Sonic was probably in as much pleasure as discomfort right now...the dark hedgehog's eyes gleamed just a little. It was fun seeing the cocky hero like this, just a little bit helpless, just a little bit on the edge what Shadow would do to him...

The black hedgehog kissed the edge of Sonic's lips, his foremost finger at the same time venturing forth ever so little, and the resulting jerk, shudder and then almost complete and instinctive clinging to Shadow let tan lips stretch into a small smile. His usually so headstrong pet was enduring any claiming of him willingly, making no move to escape, just accepting...like his whole body was simply saying _I'm yours_.

Shadow permitted himself a small snort and let his hands wander back to Sonic's sides again, the blue hedgehog relaxing simultaneously in his grasp.

_Heh. If only. _

Shadow tightened his hug just slightly and laid his head next to Sonic's pointy ear.

"Don't get killed tomorrow. Night," he whispered.

"Mh. I won't if you don't sleep-deprive me with your groping. Perv," Sonic slurred back, but he was already too dozy to be sure he'd even gotten that sentence right, and Shadow had already nodded off anyway. When the collared hero dimly realized that there was probably no answer forthcoming, he also let himself relax and shifted his weight so he was still laying with his head on top of Shadow, but now also could see the unfamiliar stars above his head. It was his first night spent outside, his first night spent in _freedom_ after his time as a slave of the castle and he was damned if he didn't enjoy every single wonderful thing of the great outdoors he had missed so much. Above him, the lights in the sky twinkled, and Sonic faintly wondered where the echidna warriors imagined their dead to go, whether they thought their ancestors were maybe gazing down at them as they would charge into battle at the next sunrise...

_Yeah. If I want to catch even a single wink tonight, I probably *shouldn't* think about how tomorrow there's gonna be a war and the fate of this entire world hangs in the balance._

Sonic sighed very audibly.

Then again, changing his track of mind fortunately wasn't such a hard task for the blue speedster whose moods could not have been more mercurial if he'd had a quicksilver sandwich for breakfast. The hero of Mobius' thoughts began to drift again, bits and fragments of the conversation at the fireplace floating to the surface which he hadn't wanted to consider yet. So Aleena's son had gone missing more than two years ago...

_...and somehow he ended up as a slave in the Palace of Black Doom. I wonder how that happened. _

Again, thinking of his other self brought with it an odd mixture of righteous anger at how people had dared treat him, a painful sting of pity at what he possibly had to endure before Sonic showed up to take his place (and, in turn, had showed several _other_ people in the castle their place quite clearly) and lastly...a definite, uncomfortable strain of embarrassment that someone who was supposed to be him had let himself be captured and collared and kept captive apparently quite so easily. Sonic could feel the tips of his ears heating up even as he told himself that even if everyone _else_ appeared much the same in character, there was a way this Sonic here wasn't really...there had to be an explanation why he...

_Seems like a total pansy,_some part of his brain supplied before the collared hero could crush the thought ruthlessly.

_No, _Sonic thought, forehead drawing into a frown as he tried to concentrate, even while sleep was already trying to take him. Everyone else seemed similar, yes...but did that also mean they lived similar lives?

_The Chaotix are secret agents, check,_ Sonic counted off in his head, _Knux is growing up in some sort of indian warrior culture, semi-check, Jet is an underhanded thief, *definitely* check, Rouge is living the High Life collecting pretty things, check_..._and their Sonic was born a prince and had a family to grow up with, _a voice in his head interjected. _Check?_

Green eyes blinked into the sky.

_If you had a mother that loved you enough that she would ride at the head of an army to save you, would you ever have left home, never to return?_

The only reason Sonic had the skills and abilities he prided himself on was, after all, that he had turned into a drifter and gone on adventures, even before he eventually become wrapped up in his own private guerilla war with a certain egg-shaped scientist which had led him to become Sonic the Hedgehog, a living legend...

_But all that happened because I was an orphan. I left Green Hill Zone because I had nothing to keep me there. I didn't even have an actual place to go home to until three years ago when Tails said he'd kind of like to have a workshop to build stuff in..._

_Tails_. That was another point, Sonic realized. He had picked up both of the fox kits at some point, the Tails on his world having been a bullied, cast out and starved orphan in the thoroughly screwed-up world of Emerald Hill Zone initially. Sonic hadn't meant to take him along, but if there was anything a four year old Tails could be, it was _stubborn_, and he had followed Sonic and talked and pleaded and looked at the blue hedgehog as if he was the world until finally the older Mobian had had to admit that perhaps a flying master-mechanic wasn't the worst companion to have along when you went up against a genius gone mad.

_I bet the other Sonic never had a little brother he adopted while he was struggling just to feed himself, _a part of his mind suggested, unbidden. _No one to care for. No one to stand up for._

No one that would make you keep fighting every battle because you knew you just couldn't let them down.

Sonic swallowed.

_I guess it must have been...really different for him, growing up..._

He thought about Shadow's life in the castle, how minutely regimented it had seemed and how many different annoying obligations each day had kept coming up. Shadow really hadn't been able to go outside any more than Sonic, and a day trip to the city and two walks in the park would have been nowhere _near _sufficient to get all the movement exercise that Sonic's lifestyle required. If that had been similar for his doppelganger...

_If only I had grown up differently I might have ended up like him, one day. If Robotnik had gone evil even without me and then enslaved the planet, maybe..._

Again, a shiver ran through Sonic's form that had nothing to do with cool night air. His sense of self had always been one of his primary pillars of confidence. Knowing that whatever anyone could throw at him, there was a core of him that they wouldn't be able to reach, or to break. Rationally, he knew that this was still true, but it was just a bit unsettling to know that if the cards of life had been dealt just a little bit differently, if he had been born just one atom-thin fraction of a dimension away, all this could have been taken from him in a heartbeat.

Again, Sonic sighed. _This_ nightly train of thought had left him with a feeling of unease, which had not been the intended end. How was he ever going to go to sleep _now_?

Then, a metaphorical light bulb (that, had it been real, probably would have caused a minor witch hunt for Sonic among people who hadn't even discovered electricity) went off over his head. The blue hedgehog smiled and had soon turned over, his belly peach arms encircling Shadow's torso like a big, particularly spiky teddy bear and the blue hero could already feel the worry leaving his system. Sleep finally seemed attainable. Because even if the Hero of Mobius had never needed anyone to hold on to, it was definitely nice that Shadow was there anyway.

Sonic slept, dreaming of familiar images of Tails bent over a console, working frantically on something that glowed like green fire, of Knuckles piloting Angel Island, and of Rouge comparing shining jewels in her hand. Nothing of it made sense to Sonic in the world of unconsciousness, but the familiar faces meant he slept peacefully, and when the first call to battle cut through the air at sunrise, he had forgotten all about it, knowing that this day focus was the most important thing of all now that the heroes of Mobius would go to war.

_To be continued..._

* * *

*keels over* Done. Finished. Nothing in the way of the big finale now. And all while I'm trying to finish my bachelor's degree. ^^° Unfortunately, deviantart has been refusing to work for me recently, so if anyone has drawn/found/seen any fanart that I haven't yet listed on my profile, wanna drop me a note about it? :3 Hope you liked, are looking forward to the battle and if you read, please review? :p _  
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